Nahlgraafkiin
by Allebasii
Summary: One day off from school spent at an amusement park sets off a chain of events no one could have forseen... This is the story of Danny Fenton, half-ghost super hero. This is the story of Danel Fendyn, Dovakiin and savior of Nirn. This is a story about the inevitability of fate. This is Nahlgraafkiin. (real chap 10 up)
1. Prologue

**Nahlgraafkiin**

**by Allebasii**

**קڔڊڄڱگڮججطختبضسضקڔڊڄڱگڮ ****קڔڊڄڱگڮ ****Prologue ****קڔڊڄڱگڮججطختبضسضקڔڊڄڱگڮ ****קڔڊڄڱگڮ**

"**Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. But not always in that order"-The Doctor**

Danel sighed as he rode down the narrow dirt path at a slow trot, the brilliant stars and aurora blazing above him in the night sky, though he paid them no mind. _He was just so bored!_

Not even the local bandits had dared to approach him, well aware by now of his status of Dovahkiin. Only the incredibly brave or fool-hardy challenged him anymore...

Suddenly, his ears twitched.

_That sound..._

Blood red eyes sparkled as a feral grin stretched across his pale grey face, fangs tingling in anticipation as he dismounted and crouched low to the ground, drawing his ebony bow from it's holder and nocking an arrow in preparation.

Creeping forward with all the experience of his silent killings, Danel motioned for the midnight black horse behind him to follow, but keep to the shadows. The horse snorted, and quickly dissolved into the darkness around them, so that only her glowing red eyes were visible.

Carefully treading though the soft and freshly fallen snow, the Dovahkiin allowed his inner senses to take over. Reaching deep inside, he grasped the pulsing, golden light that was nestled inside his core, located right next to the brilliantly blue and cold wisp of death. He quickly pulled on the golden light and brought it to the fore-front of his being.

The words of ancient dragons hissed past his lips in a rush of power:

_"__Laas... Yah Nir!" _

Immediately, a wave of red light took over his vision before silently fading away. Glancing to the side, he smirked when he saw a fiery red haze where his equine companion was hidden in the shadows of the night.

Peering around, Danel quickly dismissed the smaller smudges of red magic, before zooming in on a great winged shape flying over the mountain next to them.

Quickly sheathing his weapon once more, Danel quietly ducked and stealthily rolled his way towards the base of the mountain, keeping to the shadows. Once he was there, he quickly ascended the steep side, jumping and leaping nimbly from rocky outcropping to rocky outcropping, until he finally reached a ledge high above the ground, overlooking a slightly burnt clearing, where he could see the skeletal remains of both animals, Mer and Man alike.

Glancing up again, Danel brought the essence of the dragon's soul contained within him to the forefront again, and whispered the words of power once more, scanning the skies for his prey.

"_Life..Seek, Hunt!"_

Once more, the red haze covered his vision for an instant, and when it cleared, Danel smirked in triumph when he saw the great Ancient Dragon circling the mountain above him as it slowed it flight and glided towards the clearing, no longer able to sense him.

As the ancient creature landed, Danel quickly reached into his enchanted pack, flicking through the different sections within with practiced ease, and bringing forth a special poison contained in a green flask. Uncorking the bottle carefully with his teeth, dipping the dwarven arrow's tip into it and holding it there to let it absorb the poison entirely.

Taking aim, Danel drew his bow once more, sighted down the shaft carefully, and released.

His aim was true.

With a muted thud and a sickening squelching noise, the arrow deeply embedded itself in the Dragon's eye, waking it with a roar of pain and a splatter of blood.

As the giant reptile launched itself into the air, headed straight for the Dovahkiin with a roar and a blast of icy breath, Danel Fendyn bared his fangs and answered with roar of his own as he prepared to take down the monstrous creature, the freezing blast not even causing a shiver as it passed over him.

After all, being both half ghost _and _a full vampire tended to have it's benefits when dealing with cold temperatures.


	2. Chapter 1

**Nahlgraafkiin**  
**by Allebasii**

**קڔڊڄڱگڮججطختبضسضקڔڊڄڱگڮ קڔڊڄڱگڮ Chapter One קڔڊڄڱگڮججطختبضسضקڔڊڄڱگڮ קڔڊڄڱگڮ**  
**Monday, August 3rd.**

It was a Monday, and for once, Danny Fenton was not at school, struggling to stay awake, or battling a ghost bent on destroying Amity Park and then taking over the world. Nor was he at home, slaving away at his chores or homework that would inevitably be interrupted. Not today.

Because today, the school had been closed due to an explosion in the computer room the day before; fortunately, Danny's parents, Jack and Maddie Fenton, had been driving by and had managed to catch the ghost responsible, and so were in a good mood today.

In such a good mood in fact, that they took their children and their friends (Namely Sam Manson and Tucker Foley) out to a small amusement park nearby to celebrate.

Danny grinned as he squared off against Sam in a rock climbing race. Glancing over at his best female friend, Danny gave a secretive smile at seeing her confidence. It was a well known fact that Sam was strong enough to rival the jocks at school, whereas Danny himself was 'unfit' and 'dropped after running not even half a mile'—and he usually did. But not today.

Tensing, Danny waited impatiently for the bell to go off to signal the start of the race, feeling energy thrumming through his blood. He hadn't had any ghosts to fight all day, so all the pent up energy that was usually expended on ghost fighting was building up inside, making him twitchy and ready to run as fast and as far as he could.

_DING!_

Off like a shot, Danny bounded over to the wall from the starting line and leapt upwards, grabbing onto the hand holds easily, and feeling the slight tug of the harness has he quickly ascended the wall. Sam gasped in surprise, and stared as Danny gained a two feet lead on her. Behind her, Jack Fenton let out a booming cheer of approval, nearly bursting her ear drums.

"Hey!" Sam shouted in indignation. Danny just smiled over his shoulder at her. Gritting her teeth in determination, she grabbed the nearest handholds and pulled herself up, quickly grabbing the next set of handholds as she placed her feet on the previous ones.

The challenge was to reach the top of a fifty foot rock-climbing wall, ring the bell at the top, and be the first to descend.

Seeing that her friend was already halfway-up the wall and gaining ground fast, Sam pushed herself harder, her dark hair sticking to her brow as sweat beaded on her forehead.

Cheers rang out from below as the crowd of spectators grew from just the people in line, to the curious passersby. No one had ever made it this far up the wall this fast (That probably had something to do with the fact that the Nasty Burger was practically the only cheap restaurant in the town)

Danny, meanwhile, smiled in exhilaration as he effortlessly climbed over the walls many odd angles and gaps, having not even broken a sweat. He could feel his eyes glowing subtly as he burned off his excess energy, though it was nothing compared to letting out a good ectoblast into the faces of annoying ghosts. Especially the ones who couldn't take a hint—like the Box Ghost.

Grinning, Danny turned to see Sam slowly gaining on him. Deciding to take pity on her and that it would be more of a challenge if they reached the top at the same time, he slowed down, and sure enough, soon he and Sam were climbing right next to each other.

Danny sent her a challenging grin, seeing her startled look at his glowing green eyes, as he rang the bell a split second before she could. "Cheater!" she hissed at him, pointing to his eyes. Danny just smirked again.

"C'mon Sam! Don't be such a girl!" He taunted lightly, green eyes sparkling, as he began to climb down, feet and hands moving in exact coordination.

Sam huffed in irritation and narrowed her eyes. No way was she losing to him! Slamming her palm onto the bell, she quickly grasped the rocks in front of her and moved her hands down, while her feet moved quickly to compensate for the increase in speed as she quickly stepped on the nearest available foothold, the farther down the better, barely alighting for a second on one spot before moving to the next.

Sam smiled as she descended quickly; she was now just above Danny, who was directly below her.

Both of them were barely twenty feet above the ground, almost halfway down.

Smirking in triumph, she glanced over her shoulder to look at the dark haired boy below her, just as she took another hasty step. "Look who's the girl no-"

She slipped.

She slipped just in time to see the man who was supposed to be in charge of holding their weight via machine, leaning on a big red button as he flirted with a curvy blonde woman, leaving them free to fall, unimpeded.

She could almost feel the hands of gravity and panic as they both seized her, yanking her down from her precarious perch on the wall, to fall with a scream in slow motion towards Danny, who looked up, alerted by her shout. In an instant, she saw his eyes widen, bursting into an even brighter green light, before extinguishing as a deep-rooted panic seemed to overtake him as he heard his family's cries amongst the roar of the crowd's screams.

Sam could almost see where his train of thought was going, and she desperately wished it would derail before he reached the obvious conclusion.

He couldn't reveal his secret.

Not if there was another option.

Sam's violet eyes widened in horror as she saw him push off from the wall, throwing his arms open to catch her. With an _umph!_ they collided in mid-air, Sam's momentum driving them even faster to the ground as she shrieked, squeezing her eyes tightly shut, while Danny tensed, eyes once again glowing green under his eyelids, scrunched up in fear and concentration as he attempted to call upon his ghost powers to slow their fall without making the actual transformation.

Sam grasped onto Danny tighter, feeling as if they'd been falling for eternity, as the sensation of weightlessness took over her, their intertwined bodies lighting up with a subtle white glow as their descent began to slow.

With a resounding Crack! The two teens landed in an explosion of dust and debris; Sam pitched forward, and would have slammed into the ground hard enough to snap bones if Danny had not taken the brunt of the impact, cushioning her fall. Her hands tightened spasmodically on the halfa's shoulders, feeling how bone-chillingly cold they were. "Danny?"

Silence.

Snapping her eyes open at the lack of response, Sam gazed in horror at Danny's pale and cold face, suddenly registering that his chest was immobile. He wasn't breathing! Numbly pressing her hands again his chest as the blurry crowd surged forward, Sam desperately searched for a heartbeat. She reached out with all of her senses, straining for, well, she wasn't really sure. Some sign that he was alive. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be!

Tears gathered in her eyes and she choked back a sob. "Danny!" she whispered brokenly, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his cool one, just as Jack and Maddie arrived, leading the mob forward.

_S-Sam?_ Danny's voice echoed in her mind, bringing with it a chill breeze that seemed to sweep through her body, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

Sam jerked back in confusion, then stared in shocked joy as Danny opened his eyes slowly, in time to see the neon green glow of ectoplasm fade from them, and with a gasp, he took a breath.

Beneath her hands, Sam felt it the instant his heart began to beat again.

"Sam! Danny!" Tucker shouted as he tried to peer over Jack's broad shoulders.

"Dan! Son, are you okay?" Jack boomed, his large hands reaching forward with surprising gentleness—until he was launched to the side by a swift kick from his wife, who immediately took his place, grabbing her son's hands in her own, while Jazz stood behind her, cell phone in hand, poised to call an emergency services at an instant's notice.

"Guys! I'm fine!" Danny shouted, somewhat managing to hide his flinch at his dad's rare use of his most loathed nickname.

He attempted to sit up, but then froze when both he and Sam realized that she was practically straddling him. Blushing furiously, the Goth girl ducked to the side, stood shakily, and held out her hand to the dark haired boy, now that she had realized that he was, indeed okay.

He was safe. Safe and alive—at least for now.

_She was so going to kill him for scaring her like that!_

Danny quickly grasped her hand with his own now warm one— well, warm-er one, as his body temperature was drastically different from a normal human's, thanks to him being half ghost—and stood up in one smooth motion, making a show of stretching and inspecting himself for injuries.

Grinning at his parents (Jack had recovered from his unexpected flight remarkably quickly...probably because he was used to his wife's rather quick reflexes and harsh reactions), Danny raised a hand.

"Heh, it's a good thing this tarp was here—" Tucker immediately nudged a brown tarp that was at the base of the wall outwards more with a loud crackle; all eyes glanced over at him, and he quickly stuck his hands in his pockets, whistling innocently while avoiding everyone's eyes.

With a shrug, the crowd turned back to face Danny as he continued speaking, one hand creeping up to the back of his neck anxiously. "—it must have cushioned our fall, along with those harnesses control thingies...?"

All eyes once again turned to the object of Danny's speech, to see the overweight man in overalls straighten up and hurriedly slap his hands onto the controls, trying to look important, while nervously waving at the crowd that stared at him with calculating eyes.

Suddenly, the beautiful woman in the red dress rushed forward and sighed dramatically, practically swooning over the rather rotund man, as she loudly exclaimed, "My hero!" that is, until she noticed how many sweat stains there were on his uniform, and flinched back to a safer distance to perform her dramatics, conveniently in the direct line of some news cameras.

This was all the incentive the crowd needed to break, and as one they all swarmed around the sweating amusement park worker, whose face broke into a huge grin, which he directed towards a man in an official-looking suit with a pin of the amusement park's logo. The man shook his head in exasperation while his palm introduced itself enthusiastically to his face, as he marveled at the stupidity of those surrounding him.

Maddie Fenton huffed in irritation.

Starting, the man who was obviously in charge turned, spotted the Fenton's and their friends, sighed, brushed himself off, and quickly walked ( more like ran) over.

"I am so, so sorry!" The man stage-whispered, nervously carding his hands through his blonde hair, "I cannot apologize enough for what happened today." He turned his attention to Danny and Sam, who by now had congregated towards the edge of the scene with Tucker and Jazz. "Are you two all right?"

Startling at the unexpected address, the two teens whipped around. "Huh? Oh, yeah! We're fine!" Danny said quickly; unfortunately for him, Tucker chose that moment to emphasis his point by slapping Danny on the back, causing him to yelp and stumble forward. Tucker winced when Sam's heavy combat boot came crashing down on his foot.

The man in charge winced as well and paled a little as he realized that the Fenton family could very well sue him and his park for injuries caused due to the carelessness of a worker. He would unquestionably be sending Bob home early, possibly to never return. That useless blob of a man had caused two accidents on-site already, and the only thing he had done that was slightly positive towards his fellow workers was to give him, Jerald, a useless gift card to some gaming store, just this morning!

Jerald was almost positive Bob had been attempting to bribe him in order to get a raise. He was such an imbecile; he probably thought it would actually work—

_Wait a minute!_

Jerald shoved his hand into his breast pocket, and brought out a thick wad of tickets, receipts, and last but not least, a shiny black GameStop gift card, with the number 100 written in blood red letters in the corner.

Thrusting it out to the dark-haired youth in front of him, Jerald dropped it into the open palm, inciting a startled gasp from the blue eyed teen when he realized what he was holding. Wide, icy eyes look up at him, shock written in them, as the youngest Fenton child shook his head, holding it back out to Jerald as he protested. "Wha-? What's this for?" He asked incredulously.

"Keep it." Jerald said firmly, pushing the teen's hands back, "It's the least I can do, after you two got hurt. Please, take it with my sincerest apologies, on the behalf of Amity Adventures Park." Seeing that the teen was still shaking his head, Jerald marveled at the selflessness being exhibited before him. Quickly deciding on a change of strategy, Jerald immediately switched tactics. "Please, I have no use for it, and it would help me greatly if you could take it off of my hands. Otherwise, I'll be forced to throw it away..."

Jerald watched in glee as the teen glanced down at the gift card again, tentatively drawing it closer to his chest. "Are you sure? This is worth a hundred bucks!" upon hearing this, the other boy, Tucker, immediately jumped into the conversation, quite literally, as he launched himself forward to hover over the blue eyed teen's shoulder.

"Did you just say a hundred bucks?! Dude! That's how much the new version of Doom is, with all the bonus content and game guide with all the special codes and hidden levels!" The young, dark-skinned male exclaimed, practically drooling at the sight of the card.

Jerald grinned when he saw Danny finally close his hand completely over the gift card. As Jerald backed away, he quickly seized his chance and rushed out, "Also please, make sure you tell your parents not to sue me! It would ruin me!"

Danny looked up, confused, as the man in the suit rushed away. Danny suddenly burst into laughter when he saw the man stomp his way over to the harness worker, grab the man by his ear, and drag him away (with considerable effort), all the while shouting at the hapless man as he flailed his arms about uselessly.

With one final glance at his hand, now with the hundred dollar gift card enclosed inside, Danny turned to his friends with a grin—which immediately faltered when he saw Sam was now glaring at him. "What?"

_SMACK!_

Both Danny and Tucker stared in shock at Sam, who stood fuming, fists clenched at her sides, amethyst eyes flashing dangerously, while Jazz looked on in concern.

"What was THAT for?!" Danny demanded hotly, looking both confused at his friend's sudden mood swing and hurt as he placed a hand on his cheek, staring at his female friend with betrayal in his eyes.

Sam gritted her teeth. "THAT was for being such a jerk! Why did you do that?"

Danny looked at her in confusion, "Do what? Take the gift card? Sam, you heard him yourself, he was just going to throw it aw—"

"Not THAT!" Sam shouted in frustration, cheeks tinged pink in anger. "God Danny, why are you SO CLUELESS? Why would you throw yourself off of a wall, when you knew you would be hurt?!"

Danny stared at her, mouth a-gape as he struggled to comprehend her logic. "Why wouldn't I? If I didn't, YOU would have been seriously hurt! At least if one of us has to get hurt, it should have been the one that's able to stand it better, shouldn't it?" He demanded.

Sam's eyes flashed again, seeming to darken in rage. Beside her, Tucker quickly backed away, hands held in front of him as he fled from Sam's wrath.

"Oh, so I'm weak, now, am I? Just because I'm a girl?" She hissed dangerously, stalking forward a step.

"W-WHAT?! That is NOT what I said!" Danny retorted, looking both enraged, and, at the same time, lost, as he stared at his angry friend. What was her problem? She was acting like he had done something wrong, and now, she was blowing up at him over nothing!

"Yeah, well it certainly soun—"

"GUYS!" Jazz shouted, shoving her way in between the two teens, hands outstretched as she gently pushed them away from each other. It was only then that Danny noticed that he and Sam had been slowly advancing on each other, until they had been screaming in each other's faces. Luckily, his parents were preoccupied chatting the ear off of some poor bystander who had had the misfortune of asking what their odd attire was for.

"WHAT?" Both Sam and Danny demanded at the same instant, before they both glanced at the other, glared, and turned to face away, arms crossed.

Jazz sighed in exasperation.

"First of all, you two are arguing like an old married couple—"

"WE ARE NOT!"

Jazz ignored the simultaneous interruption, continuing to talk as if nothing had happened, "and, I think you two need to time cool down. Sam, I know why you're angry, but that doesn't mean you have to take it out on Danny." Here, Jazz turned to face her younger brother, seeing that he was now massaging his shoulder, while trying to be subtle about it. She immediately rounded on him, "And Danny, you need to learn not to take such risks! One of these days you could get really hurt!"

Tucker grinned when he saw his friends' gobsmacked expressions, thoroughly enjoying the situation... that is, before Jazz turned on him.

"And you! You, take Danny to your house. Go hang out or something; I need to talk to Sam." Tucker could only nod in acceptance at the commanding tone in her voice. Grabbing his half-ghost friend by the arm, Tucker dragged him over to the two adult Fentons, who were currently obvious to the fact that their curious spectator was now cowering under Jack's large arm, while the large jump-suited man rambled on about ghost-related things.

"Mrs. Fenton?" Tucker questioned, interrupting one of Maddie Fenton's rants on how all ghosts were 'evil ectoplasmic manifestations of post human consciousness' and how their obsessions, even the most seemingly benign, could and would turn violent over time. Maddie glanced up, surprised to see her son and his friend without Sam. Tucker continued speaking, "Do you mind if Danny spends the night at my house? My mom and dad won't mind, and we wanted to go to Game Stop later to get the new game that just came out..?"

Maddie considered it for a moment; after all, it was a school night, and Danny had been getting rather poor grades as of late...

Then again, Maddie pondered, Maybe Tucker's good study habits will rub off on Danny, plus, Tucker is always ready before Danny in the morning, when he comes to walk to school with him...but just to be sure...

"Is all your homework down from Friday?" The teal-suited mother asked, placing her hands on her hips in an authoritative manner.

"Most of it is; Tucker's going to be helping me with the math..." Danny answered quickly, looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Yeah! I'm really good at math, so I'm going to start tutoring Danny, so he can get his grades up!" Tucker pipped up hastily, though in truth, his math grade was largely due to him being able to sneak a calculator into class, though Mrs. Fenton didn't need to know that.

Maddie sighed. "Fine, fine, but make sure he finishes his homework, and don't stay up too late!" she directed this last part to her son, who nodded quickly, shoving something into his pocket.

**الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال Line Break الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**

As the two male friends left the amusement park to walk to the mall, Jazz pulled Sam to the side and began to walk in the opposite direction.

The two girls walked in silence for a couple minutes, during which Jasmine observed the younger girl as the rage melted from her eyes to be replaced with left over fear, while tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Silently pulling the other girl towards her, Jazz draped an arm around her shoulders while Sam Manson, the usually stoic warrior, cried silently into her shoulder.

"It's okay, Sam. He's fine, he's okay, trust me." Jazz said to her comfortingly, while Sam hiccupped, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as her mascara ran down her flushed face.

"But back there—for, for a second, I thought he had died!" Sam gasped out, wringing her hands together, "He was so cold, and he w-wasn't breathing..."

Jazz turned and hugged her, trying to reassure her that her friend was indeed, alive and well. "Sam, he was just using his ghost powers to their full extent in his human form. He hasn't done that before yet, so it probably made his body feel like a ghost for a minute or two. You don't have to worry about him, he's fine..." Jazz trailed off as a thought occurred to her, one that made her worry.

_What if his body couldn't handle it? What if he actually died while doing that?_

She quickly shook the thought away, though the image, unbidden, came to her mind of Danny lying on the ground, face deathly pale while Sam cried over his broken body...

She would have to tell Danny to be careful if he ever did that again...his secret was not worth losing his life over.

"Yeah, you're right..." Sam sighed sadly as she wiped the remaining mascara off of her face, along with the remaining tears, though her eyes were still red and puffy. She sighed again. "I'll have to apologize to Danny tomorrow...it's just he scares me so much when he puts himself at risk...I really did think he was dead, until..." Here, the goth girl froze and stopped walking to stare blankly ahead, her amethyst eyes widening in realization. "Oh, my god..."

Jazz faltered misstep, looking concerned as she whirled around to stare at the girl who was frozen on the sidewalk. "What? Sam? What's wrong?" she asked, quickly backtracking to where the Goth was standing.

"I—back there, at the park! When he wasn't responding, I thought he was dead, until I heard him say my name!" the dark haired teen exclaimed.

Jazz raised an eyebrow, confused as to why this was important. "So?"

"He didn't say it out loud though! He said it in my head!"

Jazz looked at Sam with renewed concern and confusion. "Uh, Sam? Are you sure you didn't hit your head or something?" The eldest Fenton child immediately moved forward and began to feel along the back of the younger girl's head before the Goth swatted her hand away in irritation.

"No! I mean it! And it got cold, like I was dunked in ice water or something, and oh my god! I think he's developing a new ghost power!" Sam said, remembering the feeling of the...psychic connection they had shared.

"But, Danny didn't act like he did anything new...if he realized, he would have been super excited, wouldn't he?" Jazz questioned, realizing that it _was_ a possibility that Danny could be developing a new power, and not that Sam was just being delusional.

"Hmm..." Sam thought about it for a second, before snapping her fingers, as she realized that maybe_ she_ had been the one to initiate the link. She had been reaching out with her senses, trying to get a sign from him! "Hold on! Let me see if I can do it again..."

Sam closed her eyes and concentrated, remembering the icy breeze that had suddenly washed through her mind when she had first heard his ethereal voice in her mind.

Suddenly, everything around her fading into darkness, leaving her lost in a sea of blackness.

But, she wasn't alone.

She could feel something; something green and cold, yet somehow comforting, floating near her. Tentatively, she reached out to the consciousness with her own insubstantial hands, that she realized with slight astonishment were a bright purple that matched her eyes, though she really shouldn't have been surprised.

The instant she came into contact with the green soul, foreign, disjointed images and sensations exploded in her mind, shocking her like electricity, yet also freezing her in icy waves of energy at the same time.

_Pain; unimaginable, unbearable, as the electricity leaped from molecule to molecule, ripping him apart as it dove deeper, until it reached the smallest cells, irrevocably changing them; killing them even as the roaring energy breathed into them new life..._

_Stumbling out of the machine, limbs shaking uncontrollably as he struggled to bring his senses under control. Seeing the blurred faces of Sam and Tucker, feeling the pulsing waves of energy surrounding them as they cried out in panic, rushing towards him. But they merely passed through him, and he realized that he was floating an inch above the floor._

_Looking in the mirror; Seeing someone not himself: he was deathly pale, and where there was once black, a shock of white hair hung in front of his face, illumined by the glowing neon green eyes staring out at him._

Suddenly, the scenery changed, and Sam looked around in horrified fascination at the destruction that loomed around them.

_The reek of dead bodies and spilled sewage assaulted his senses as he took in the collapsed buildings around them, strewn about as if a careless child had knocked down a line of dominoes, with no qualm as to where they landed._

_Suddenly a figure emerged from the cloud; a red-suited woman with a short military cut. He jolted with shock as he realized that it was Valerie._

_Seeing his older self try to kill Valerie._

_Watching in horror as Sam and Tucker were crushed by the collapsing form of his old home._

_Seeing the destruction he had caused in the Ghost Zone, and to its inhabitants._

_Seeing Vlad, an old, wasted visage of his former self—seeing the genuine sorrow and regret in his eyes and demeanor as he reminisced about the past._

"Some things my boy, are better left unsaid."

_Seeing the affection in Vlad's eyes, what he had held for his past self, and the hope that rekindled in them when he looked upon him._

_Fighting Dan._

_Being too late._

_Watching the Nasty Burger explode, with his family trapped inside._

_Feeling the searing heat of the explosion scorching his skin, burning his hair, as it ripped his family apart._

'We will never be the same again...'

_More images blurred through her mind, overwhelming her sense of time, direction, and self. Scattered memories from after the CATs, all of his fights, of him rushing to class, being unable to sleep more than a handful of hours a night, random memories, all the way up to and past today's rock climbing incident._

_Walking away, fuming. Wondering what Sam's problem was. Heading to GameStop with Tucker, to buy the latest version of Doom._

_Standing in line._

_Walking out, strewn with bags._

_Ghost Sense going off._

_The shrieking of the ghost alarms nearly deafening him when they blared throughout the mall._

_The ominous feeling like the world was about to burn._

_**الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال Line Break الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**_

When Sam next opened her eyes, she was in Jazz's room, curled up on the bed. Early morning sunlight peeked through the window. She glanced over the edge, confused, to see Jazz curled up on an air mattress, her hair a wild, orange mess around her head.

"Wha...?" The goth girl abruptly trailed off when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket; she quickly dug it out, turned the sound on, and an instant later, the theme music for _Angel_ blared loudly, the mournful cry of the violin jerking Jazz out of her sleep, while Sam imagined a vamped out David Borianaz kicking down a door.

"Hello? Tucker? What's up?" Sam said, after she pressed the key to answer, while at the same time Jazz jolted with a small shout of surprise at seeing Sam awake, getting tangled when she attempted to wrestle herself out of her nest of blankets.

_"SAM?! Where have you been? I've called, like, a million times already! Something happened to Danny! I don't know what to do!"_ Tucker's panicked voice carried easily from the phone's speaker to Jazz, who immediately shot off the floor to lean over Sam's shoulder, just barely resisting the urge to snatch the phone from her hand as she listened anxiously for news of her brother.

"What? Is he OK? What happened?" Sam demanded, wondering what exactly had happened yesterday after she initiated the link...and speaking of which, she could already feel a pounding headache coming on. She rubbed her temple with the hand not holding the phone, trying to avoid the veritable migraine she had a bad feeling was going to form at the most inopportune moment.

_"I—I don't know, but—you better come over Sam, and bring Jazz. I think he might be...just—just hurry. Please."_

Panic set in then, and with narry a second thought, Sam bolted out of bed and sprinted out of the room, Jazz close behind as she raced down the stairs, vaulted over the living room sofa (while Jazz was forced to run around) and was out the door before ten seconds had even passed.

Maddie Fenton glanced up from where she was sitting on the couch, impressed with Sam's athletics, but wondering what had her in such a hurry. Suddenly her brow furrowed as a thought occurred to her.

_Were Sam's eyes just glowing?_

**Annnd here's the first chapter of Nahlgraafkiin! hope you all like it! Reviews are extremely appreciated, so i know i'm not just posting words to thin air! =D**

**If you like this, make sure you read my sister, Rjalker's oneshot "A Dream I Had One Night" Which was heavily based on Nahlgraafkiin, which she always read during Nanowrimo when i finished writing for the day; also, if you love Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doctor Who, make sure you check out the rest of her storie's as well!**

**And if you want to find "A Dream" quickly, you can probably just click on the crossovers link at the top of the page. at the time of my posting of this (12/2/12) there are only 4 DP/Skyrim crossovers, two of which are by myself and my twin sister. so yeah, enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 2

**حدث هذا من قبل، وسوف يحدث مرة أخرىChapter Two حدث هذا من قبل، وسوف يحدث مرة أخرى**  
**Danny**

Just as Tucker and I were leaving GameStop, loaded down with bags of games, accessories, and more unnecessary nerd-y things, my ghost sense went off.

Oh how I just hate being half-ghost sometimes. Most of the time, my powers just made me miserable. Ghost Sense? It feels like I just chugged a slushie—in reverse. Trust me, that is not a good feeling. Or like the enhanced senses; everything was so much louder than when I was a normal human. Now normally, that wouldn't be a problem… Except for when you put your ear buds in, and someone left the volume all the way up (ouch!), or when your dad comes bursting out of nowhere, screaming his head off while waving around a deadly weapon designed to rip you apart molecule by molecule.

Or, of course, when the ghost alarm goes off in the mall when you're standing right next to one of the speakers.

"AH!" I yelped, nearly dropped all of our bags when that annoying, high-pitched siren went off right next to my ear; as it was, I had to attempt to clap my hands over my ears in order to not go completely deaf, while I looked around for the ghost, and a way to shut off that alarm. While being in human form that ringing was deafening, I knew from experience that it would be ten times worse as Phantom. Hopefully, though, whatever ghost was attacking would be just as hindered.

Just as I thought that, the cringing form of Technus appeared into the visible spectrum, sending the customers, formerly frozen in shock, running with screams of terror as Technus narrowed his eyes and sent tendrils of electricity at the speakers, blowing them up and just barely managing to not take off me and Tucker's heads.

With a sigh of relief as the annoying alarm was dimmed to a more tolerable volume, I quickly looked around for anymore witnesses, and seeing none, I quickly shoved the bags into Tucker's hands and glared at the technology-loving ghost as he cackled evilly and, clutching a bulky bag with the GameStop logo on it, flew up, and through the ceiling.

"Meet me outside!" I quickly told Tucker, who grunted and stumbled under the weight of the various bags and boxes, before I turned and took a fighting stance: "I'm GOING GHOST!"

As I shouted my battle cry, I reached deep inside and grasped the cold, green, ethereal form inside me, bringing it to the front of my being as I initiated the transformation from human Danny to ghost Phantom.

The second I grabbed the green energy, twin halos of white light exploded around my waist; one traveling up while the other flashed downwards, revealing my black and white jumpsuit-clad ghost form. Wasting no time, I quickly turned intangible and followed Technus' path, flying right through the ceiling and out into the open air above the mall. Quickly following the little compass point of ice that was my ghost sense, I quickly spotted Technus flying through the air towards the edge of town, bag of stolen merchandise clutched in his green hands still.

Narrowing my eyes, I quickly flew towards him, giving chase. Luckily, he didn't seem to have noticed me yet, and I quickly put on a burst of speed long enough to fly around to face him, forcing him to halt to avoid crashing into me.

"Oh, what do you want now, brat? Can't you see I'm trying to return home so that I can train to become the master of your puny, insignificant human world?!" Technus demanded in his usual, dramatic, 'shout my plans to the sky' manner.

I sighed in exasperation—then raised an eyebrow as his words registered. "Wait, you use video games to train? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" I exclaimed. No wonder he was so bad at taking over the world.

Said ghost looked annoyed at my disbelief. Puffing his chest out, he smoothed back his hair and struck a pose, trying to appear tough. "How else would I get so strong and powerful? Where do you think I spend all my time after you somehow manage to beat me?" he demanded, smirking.

I rolled my eyes and smirked right back. "Well, I just assumed you were hiding out in the Ghost Zone until you got enough courage, or stupidity, to show, our face again!" I retorted, slowly reaching for the thermos clipped to my belt while he was distracted.

Technus scowled, and then grinned. I had barely enough time to worry what that was about before the thermos shocked me. Jerking my hand back in pained surprise, I watched in horror as the ghost-hunting weapon lit up with a green glow and shot sparks. The weapon quickly broke free of the clasp and shot towards Technus, to land in his waiting hand, and I cursed.

"Aha! Not so tough now, are you Ghost Boy?" Technus cried, grinning widely. I narrowed my eyes and as an answer, shot a palm forward, pulling my ecto-energy out and directing it at the ghost in a blast of icy cold fire.

Technus yelped and dodged to the side, nearly dropping his bag of games. With a glare at me, he quickly levitated the bag and placed in on the ground behind a bush. Before I could react, he quickly shot a beam of his own ectoplasmic energy at me, distracting me from the bag and hitting my left arm as I attempted to dodge. With a hiss of pain, I clenched my fists, feeling the skin on my forearm beginning to blister and burn from the sheer cold energy that had just slammed into it—but I had to ignore the pain.

No matter how much it hurt, I had to defeat him before he could hurt anyone that wouldn't be able to take even one hit without needing serious medical attention.

Gritting my teeth, I resolutely flew forward, shooting another energy blast at Technus as I shot towards him, immediately following it with an uppercut to the jaw.

He retaliated by grabbing my fist and throwing me backwards to slam into a telephone pole, then shot electric ecto-energy at them, animating the wires and causing them to wrap around me tightly, constricting my hands and legs so that I could barely move. With a vicious smirk, He grabbed two cables, which immediately took on an ominous green glow. Terror filled me as that glow advanced, flowing down the cables towards me like lightning, and that was exactly what it felt like when it made contact.

Waves of energy crashed into me, sending my body into convulsions as the pain escalated to unbearable levels, ripping screams out of my throat as the angry Master of Technology continued to pour energy into the cables, laughing manically.

Straining to gather my own energy to fight back, I felt my terror and frustration building as my attempts were dashed every time I gathered enough to make an attack. My body was slowly going numb, and I feared I would be forced to change back to my human body—my vulnerable human body that would have no chance of surviving the massive amounts of electricity that were currently tearing through me.

Just as I was about to pass out, the electricity raging through my body abruptly cut off, the wires unwrapping from around me, leaving my dazed on the ground, panting, as I heard Technus give a scream of rage through the ringing in my ears. With considerable effort, I glanced up, and froze.

Technus now had the cords wrapped around Tucker's waist, glaring at my best friend who was clutching the bag of games that Technus had seemed so desperate to protect. On the ground around him, the smoking remains of our purchases smoldered quietly, and a small spark of annoyance flashed through my fear-filled mind. Couldn't I ever get something awesome, without it being destroyed less than ten minutes after I got it?

I struggled to my feet, swaying, as I moved towards them, determined. I had to help Tucker before Technus hurt him.

I could see their mouths moving, but I could barely hear anything through the ringing left behind by the shock, and my insides froze when I saw Technus tighten the wires, forcing Tucker to drop the bag to the ground, after which the ghost angrily tossed my hapless friend twenty feet through the air, to land in a heap by a tree, motionless.

Paralyzed, I could only stare at Tucker's motionless form, beret askew.

Then I saw Technus gathering energy in his hands, ready to send it flying at my friend.

My friend, who I could lose forever, if that beam made contact.

My rage snapped in an instant, and the ringing in my ears was replaced with a roar, pouring energy into my limbs, alighting my hands and eyes with murderous energy. With a bellow, I launched myself forward, hands outstretched and crackling with icy power as I charged through the air at my enemy, hell bent on sending him back to the Ghost Zone one way or another; be it the thermos or in pieces. "STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"

I tackled the ghost out of the air, feeling an odd coldness about my shoulders, and for an instant I saw a flash of swirling white and glowing red reflected in the ghost's glasses when I glared at him, baring my teeth in a show of primal of rage.

This ghost would NOT harm what was mine!

The energy in Technus' hands went out in shock as he stared at me in terror when I roughly grabbed him by the front of his cape/suit/thing, holding him up in the air with one hand while my other curved, claws sprouting from the tips of my fingers. Baring my teeth at him again, I felt vicious amusement at the fear I could feel coming in waves off of his spectral body.

Raising the hand not holding the technology ghost, I pulled on my energy, willing it to become like the roaring in my mind: vast, vengeful, and raging.

Immediately, my hand moved on instinct, and in a motion much like what my ghostly werewolf friend used, I ripped my hand through the air, and the very fabric of reality was shredded in its wake.

Through the tears in the air, I could see black, green, purple and grey; the Ghost Zone.

Drawing back my hand, I sent one more glare at Technus, seeing again the flash of red reflected back to me, and shoved him into the portal, slashing through it to close it behind his shocked form.

Once the portal was closed, I spun around and flew to Tucker's side, and immediately felt energy pulsing from him in small waves. He was alive. Feeling a wave of tiredness sweep through me, I dropped to my knees next to my unconscious friend, took a deep, ragged breath, and blew it out, the roaring fading from my ears.

Everything around me became much clearer, as if a fog had lifted, the coldness disappeared from my shoulders, and I glanced around, wondering what had happened. Spotting Tucker, unconscious if front of me, I quickly reached down and shook his shoulder, calling his name as I panicked. What if he didn't wake up? What if he had a concussion or something?

"Tucker? Tucker! Wake up!" I called, and on impulse, I leaned down so I was next to his ear and shouted "Tucker! The Box Ghost just stole your PDA!"

That did the trick; with a gasp of "Tiffany, NO!" Tucker jerked awake, glanced around wildly, saw me grinning at him, and pouted, crossing his arms with a scowl.

"Dude, so not cool. Do you know how many PDA's that guy's busted up? My warranties are running out!" He bemoaned, before doing a double-take to glance at my face.

"What?" I asked, whipping around to look behind me when I saw fear flash across his face.

"Nothing, I thought I just saw...never mind, it must have been a trick of the light." he said, trailing off when he spotted our destroyed bags. His jaw dropped in horror, and he dashed toward them, rummaging around through the smoking remains, trying to see if anything had survived, though I seriously doubted it. With a cry of frustration, Tucker attempted to throw one of the ruined bags, only for it to float slowly to the ground in front of him.

Though I was angry about the waste of money lying in smoking heaps on the ground too, Tucker's annoyance was too funny. I cracked up laughing at his expression, clutching my sides as I toppled over backwards, suddenly losing my balance as my muscles randomly spasmed from their earlier electrocution.

With a grunt I landed on the ground and changed back to my human form. Seeing Tucker's raised eyebrow, I shrugged. "I meant to do that." He rolled his eyes, as if to say 'Suurreee you did', before something seemed to catch his eye.

"Dude! One of the bags survived!" He shouted joyously, diving at the big, bulky bag, grabbing something off the top, before holding it high in the air victoriously, "And this has the game in it! He just destroyed all the bonus content packs! Besides, I can always just mod the game myself to make it awesome!"

A wide grin split my face as I realized that our night wasn't completely ruined, though something was nagging me at the back of my mind, something about that bag...

With a shrug, I waved it off. "C'mon," I told Tucker, "Let's go play Doom IV!"

And together, the two of us raced to Tucker's house, ready to beat the awesomest game ever.

**الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال Line Break الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**

...or not.

Tucker and I stared at the dumped out contents of the bag in confusion.

A game case labeled Doom IV sat on the blanket, but the game inside was most certainly not Doom. It was a plain disc, with a silver, diamond-shaped metal dragon symbol on the front, and the words 'The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.'

A weird, sleek black console with the PlayStation symbol on it sat on Tucker's bed, but it looked far more advanced than my pitiful, beat up, 'I'm surprised this thing hasn't blown up yet' Ps2 at home.

"Tucker?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you grabbed the wrong bag."

"Nooo, I just grabbed the bag with the weird stuff in it on purpose."

"No need to be sarcastic." I quipped as I picked up the disc gingerly in my hand as I examined it. "What's Bluray? And Skyrim, for that matter?"

Tucker shrugged, and held up a power strip in invitation. "Wanna find out?"

"Sure."

And with that presidential-debate-worthy discussion, we set to work setting this "Ps3" (which I didn't even know they were making already, and you think Tucker would have heard of it) up; it seemed fairly straight forward, until we tried to find the slots for the memory cards.

After five minutes of fruitless searching, we both gave up, figuring it probably took flash drives or something, with the USB-style controller slots. Luckily, Tucker had at least a dozen thumb drives in a box under his desk, so we were prepared for anything.

As the last cable was plugged in, (and once the PlayStation was done scanning itself or whatever it was doing,) Tucker and I both made accounts, and we finally settled in to play. I walked up, removed the disc from its case once again, and slid it into the slot, where it was retracted into the console with a low mechanical whirr.

I passed the controller to Tucker, who had called being the first to play, (something about me owing him PDA's for not catching the Box Ghost before he could break them) and as he scrolled sideways through the menu to get to the section for Games, I wondered where Technus had gone, since my memories of the fight had been a little blurry at the end; I wondered when he would come back, and why he'd been there in the first place—other than to wreak havoc, that is.

Suddenly, I remembered Technus boasting about how he used video games to train himself; had we taken his bag? Was this some sort of high-tech ghost device? There were some glowing markings along the sides, though I was pretty sure that was just part of the design, so it didn't seem like it; it wasn't nearly simple enough, or on the other end of the spectrum, complex enough to be created by a ghost; they usually went one way or the other, as long as it was extreme. So what was it? A PlayStation 3 prototype? It seemed way too fine tuned for that though—and how would we have found it? Why would someone just be walking around with it in a bag?

I was still musing on the origin of the game console when Tucker selected the game from the menu, and the main screen began to load; a simple black background, with what appeared to be smoke or fog swirling from the bottom left of the screen.

Suddenly, I heard chanting. Cocking my head to the side, I stared at the screen as the chanting became louder, clear enough that I didn't need my enhanced ghost senses to hear it; loud enough for Tucker to hear.

_Hu, hwa, hah, ya!_  
_Hu, hwa, hah, ya!_  
_Hu, hwa, hah, ya!_

We both raised an eyebrow at the orchestra of what sounded to me (via enhanced hearing) like over ninety people chanting in gibberish.

_Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin,_  
_Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!_  
_Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan,_  
_Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!  
_  
"Well, this sounds interesting already" Tucker commented, straining to make out what the people were singing.

_Huzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod,_  
_Ahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein!_  
_Wo lost fron wah ney dov, ahrk fin reyliik do jul,_  
_Voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein_

_Ahrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod,_  
_Rul lot Taazokaan motaad voth kein!_  
_Sahrot Thu'um, med aan tuz, vey zeim hokoron pah,_  
_Ol fin Dovahkiin komeyt ok rein!_

"Yeah," I agreed, listening closely as the music suddenly started to grow softer.

_Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin,_  
_Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!_  
_Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan,_  
_Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!_

_Ahrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah,_  
_Tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein!_  
_Alduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau,_  
_Voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein!_

_Nuz aan sul, fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok,_  
_Fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz!_  
_Paaz Keizaal fen kos stin nol bein Alduin jot,_  
_Dovahkiin kos fin saviik do muz!_

_Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin,_  
_Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!_  
_Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan_  
_Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!_

As the music drew to a close and faded away, Tucker glanced at me, eagerness already shining in his eyes as he clicked 'start', which opened another menu that contained a list of different options in bright green letters in an old-fashioned font:

_Play Full Game_

_Play Game in Increments_

_Play Concentrated Game_

_Play Game's Strategy & Tactics_

_View summery of Game's Story Line_

"Uhh, I'm guessing Full Game?" Tucker questioned, while I stared at the list suspiciously. Cocking my head to the side, I glanced from the green writing to the markings on the PS'3's sides, which were the exact same color.

Deciding to take my silence as an affirmative it seemed, Tucker scrolled the fancy pointer down from 'start' to 'Play Full Game' and clicked 'X', just as the puzzle pieces fell into place in my mind and a wave of foreboding crashed through me; it felt as if the world were about to burn, as I watched the selected words flash black, white, then purple, fading into the screen to reveal a maelstrom of colors typical of the Ghost Zone and its inhabitants.

"Initiating gaming protocol 3.0: Full Game." The Console said in a low, wraithlike voice

_Crap._

In a flash of light and blazing noise, the portal in the TV lashed out towards Tucker, who still held the controller, the swash of colors reaching for my friend with hungry hands of swirling energy.

"TUCKER! MOVE!" I shouted, protective fury rising up in me, and for an instant, as I leaped forward to push him out of the way, I could feel that coldness around my shoulders again, Tucker stared at me as if he were frozen in shock.

As my body pushed Tucker's out of the way, I felt the energy-hand grab me around the waist, pulling me towards the portal in the television, which seemed to be growing stronger and stronger as the seconds wore on.

For a second, I struggled.

For a second, I resisted.

For a second, I was_ safe._

Then the tugging became more violent as the sounds of clashing swords and men shouting reached my ears, and dimly, behind the swirling vortex of energy, I saw what appeared to be medieval soldiers clashing in a small, rag-tag encampment, shouts of "I see him! It's Ulfric!" and "Death to the Stormcloaks!" rang out, and my momentary distraction was my undoing.

I shouted in fear as I was pulled, with no hope of escape, into the portal, just as a soldier bashed his sword over the head of a large blond man with braids and what looked like a fur cloak as he was shouting at some of the enemy soldiers, cutting him off mid-bellow and knocking him to the ground, dazed.

For what seemed like an eternity, I was pulled into a tunnel; a tunnel that seemed to grow smaller and smaller around me, constricting my movements and breathing, making panic well up in my chest as I struggled to draw in a breath, claustrophobia taking over as I struggled in the blinding darkness of the portal.

Just as I was about to scream or pass out in panic, the tunnel suddenly disappeared and I was left to plummet out of the sky, falling towards the large blond man who was being subdued by the soldier that had hit him, his mouth bound with rope gags and what looked like a bandana tied around his head, so that he had no way of speaking. All of this, I registered in the split second it took me to fall from twenty feet in the air, to crash painfully into the ground right behind the soldier that was tying the man up.

Before I could even groan in pain, the loud 'thud' of my landing must have startled the soldier because I saw him whirl around, raise his shield, and bring it down quickly—


	4. Chapter 3

**أن الجملة الأولى؟ أقول ذلك ونحن جميع ****Chapter Three أن الجملة الأولى؟ أقول ذلك ونحن جميع**

**_'_**_Frak that hurt'_ I thought (The swear word leaking out of my subconscious, due to watching far too many episodes of _Battlestar Galactica_ with Sam and Tucker,) blurrily as I resurfaced from the darkness in my mind, not entirely sure how I had gotten there. My ghost sense wasn't going off, so there weren't any ghosts around...

I looked up, and stared around, absolutely flabbergasted.

_'where the heck am I?'_

I was sitting in a large cart, drawn by a huge brown horse, which one of the soldiers from earlier was controlling, using reins while he sat on the edge of the cart at the front.

Across from me, sat a blonde man, who, with a start, I realized look familiar because he had the same high forehead and blond hair, (though his was not in braids) as the man I had first seen when the portal dropped me here; this man wore what looked like leather and chain-mail armour with leather straps running across his chest in an 'x' from his shoulders, holding a piece of blue fabric to his shoulders and back.

Next to him sat a dark-haired man in what looked like a long, ragged shirt—a tunic, I think it was called—who had dirt smeared across his heavy brow, shadowing eyes that looked around frantically, fearfully. His hands would twitch every now and then, and I saw that had had dirt encrusted under his chipped and cracked fingernails, along with calluses on his palms.

Glancing back to the back at the blond man, I was startled to see him looking directly at me, glaring. I jerked back slightly in surprise, causing a tuft of white hair to fall into my eyes.

Wait..._white?_

I froze. When had I shifted to my ghost form?! _I didn't remember that!_ And why weren't these people freaking out? Hadn't they seen a ghost before?!

I made to reach a nervous hand up to brush my hair out of my eyes, hoping that no one would notice that I was glowing or anything, but something stopped my hand from moving very far.

I glanced down and my heart skipped a beat. My hands were bound tightly with ropes. And not only that, but my skin appeared darker than I had ever seen it. I must have bruised them pretty badly or something with my fall with how dark my skin looked, a sort of purple-blue-ish grey.

_How am I not noticing these things?_ I thought, heart pounding, when another thought quickly forced its way into my panicked mind; distantly, I could hear the blond man and the dark haired man speaking to each other and possibly me.

_How the hell is my heart pounding?!_

Closing my eyes, I took deep, calming (or it was supposed to be) breath, and exhaled, ignoring the inane chatter around me as I reached inside, to where my ghost and human halves usually resided in the core of my being, searching for the familiar blue, heavy warmth of my human half.

Instead, I found something that shocked me enough that I almost screamed aloud, my breathing becoming panicked pants.

Instead of the familiar warm blue heaviness of my human half, or even the buoyant and cool green of my ghost side, I found _three_ soul halves!

Yeah, you heard me. Not one, not two, but three. _THREE!_

How does that even make sense? I'm half ghost, half human. How can I be half something else too?! Unless it's now down to me being a third human, a third ghost, and a third...uh, gold light thingy? No, wait, I don't think that's adding up right—oh, who gives a crap? What the hell _was_ it?!

I was about to reach out to it and touch it, to see if I could get an inkling of whatever the hell it was, when a sudden, barking shout ripped me from my mind and back into (a very confusing) reality.

"Wha—?" I questioned, looking around frantically when I saw that I was no longer in the company of those mysterious prisoners. I was alone in the cart. Just as I was about to panic again, I felt a comforting hand descend on to my shoulder. I jumped, whirling around to face the person behind me with a yelp of terror.

The soldier raised his hand placatingly, though I nervously eyed the one that remained on his sword.

"C'mon Lad, steady now. On your feet." I stared at him dumbly for a second before climbing slowly to my feet, holding on to the wooden sides of the cart as best I could with my hands bound as my unsteady feet brought me to the edge of the cart, my mind whirling at a million miles per hour without going anywhere as I tried to comprehend what was going on.

As I stumbled out of the cart, I noticed that my clothes had changed as well; I no longer wore my usual attire of a white shirt with red trim and an oval on the front, my favorite pair of baggy blue jeans and my red and white shoes that matched my shirt.

Now, I wore some of the most thread-bare clothes I had ever seen. Heck, before I saw what I was wearing, I hadn't even known what 'threadbare' looked like! Now I knew, and it sucked, especially when a cool breeze whipped around the small village we had stopped in, chilling my skin and sending goosebumps racing up my arms, causing my ears to twitch as a distant sound reached my ears, somewhat reminiscent of cars driving on a distant road in the rain, the _wooosshhh _of something large and heavy slicing through the air.

The soldier gave me a gentle push towards the prisoners who had been on the cart with me, and as I stumbled forward, I saw the blond man who had glared at me in the cart was standing next to the man in the fur cloak, which I now realized with slight disgust, was an entire wolf skin, or at least it looked like it. Both of the blonde men gave me looks of disdain, and I wondered what their problem was as I looked at them in confusion, and irritation. I mean, I hadn't even done anything to these guys (at least, not that I knew of), and they already didn't like me! They're almost as bad as Dash, who had at least had the courtesy of finding out that my parents were ghost hunters before he decided to pick on me in the 7th grade.

I watched as the soldier who had directed me to stand next to the idiots in blue walked around our little group and took his place in front of us, hefting up a thick book and holding a quill (_A QUILL!), _posed to write.

"When I call your name, please step forward." The man intoned, before glancing down at the book. "Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak of Windhelm."

_'Yarl?' _I thought, as Blondie in the wolf skin stepped forward. _'Who the heck names their son "Yarl"?'_

"It has been an honor, _Jarl_ Ulfric" Blondie Number Two said to Blondie Number One, and upon hearing the reverence and pride that Blondie number two put into the name 'Yarl' I realized that it wasn't a name at all; it must have been a title of nobility or something.

"Ralof of Riverwood." Blondie Number Two (who's name I now knew was Ralof, though I think I much preferred to call him Blondie Number Two) stepped forward and glared defiantly at the kind soldier.

"The Empire loves their damned lists, don't they Hadvar? You're a traitor to your people; Standing by as the Thalmor takes the heart of Skyrim with their pathetic elven laws, saying who we can worship and who we cannot!"

I watched in confusion as Blondie Number Two ranted, wondering who the heck the 'Thalmor' were, _and did he just say 'Elven?'_

"I am not the traitor here, Ralof. _You_ are the one who sided with a murderer, and not just any killer, but Ulfric Stormcloak, the slayer of the High King of Skyrim!"

Ralof looked ready to retort, while I stared at Blondie Number One, shocked, and more than a little nervous. This man had murdered someone in cold blood.

"I have nothing more to say to a man who stood aside and let his king be ripped apart, let alone side with the murderer himself. Now go, and take your place; the Gods await you." Hadvar snarled, his face becoming stone cold and fierce. Ralof stood there a second more, before stalking over to join Blondie Number Two, who I now knew was a stone-cold killer. Hadvar had described it as _ripped him apart_.

I shuddered at the thought, especially when I saw the killer in question was still glaring at me, his eyes seeming to trace over my form, lingering on my face, before I turned away, using my (mysteriously) white hair as a shield against his scrutiny.

"Lokir of Rorikstead"

A sudden movement from the dark haired man made me jump and look in his direction, just in time to see him taking off down the path through the center of the village, screaming "You're not gonna kill me!"

"Archers!" A female soldier (weren't people sexist in medieval [or whenever this was] times?) shouted, and I stared, aghast, as the archers shot Lokir down. I was rooted to the spot; disbelief warring with terror, as I begged Lokir to get back up, to be alive still...

No such thing happened; no soldiers went to check on the...body...and Lokir of Rorikstead lay dead on the ground, not fifty feet from where I stood.

There was a roaring in my ears as I stared at his body, unable to tear my eyes away, knowing that if I had done something—anything! I could have saved him.

"Anyone else feel like running?" The woman shouted, her eyes seeming to burn into mine, as I numbly met her gaze, and shook my head, which seemed to take more effort than it should have as the images of Lokir being _murdered_ in front of my eyes replayed over and over.

"You there, step forward lad."

I slowly looked up, and saw Hadvar was looking at me with compassion (or maybe pity) in his gaze as he saw the tears gathering in my eyes. I slowly, shakily stepped forward, wondering how much my mind could take before I simply passed out or something.

_'It's just a game. Remember that. Lokir was just a character; he was probably meant to die!'_

_'But it feels so real!' _I argued with the voice in my head as I stumbled forward, _'Lokir was real. He was alive. And now...'_

"Who...are you?"

"D-Danny" I whispered, barely audible as I lowered my eyes to the ground again.

"What's that? Speak up lad; I need your full name." Hadvar said, and I swallowed back a sob as Lokir's face flashed through my mind again.

"Daniel, Daniel Fenton" I told him, staring at his feet as he shifted; hearing the rustle of pages as he flipped through the book.

"Another refugee? Gods really have abandoned your people, dark elf."

I could hear him muttering to himself "Danel Fendyn, Danel Fendyn" as he searched, but I didn't have it in me to correct him. After maybe a minute had passed, the man let out a frustrated sigh and turned to the woman who had ordered Lokir to be killed. "What should we do, Captain? He's not on the list."

The Captains reply was as quick as it was brutal, and I felt my heart stop all-together for a moment as I processed her words. "Forget the list. He goes to the block. The Headsman is waiting"

For an instant, stunned, horrified silence took over my mind, while I stared at the captain. Then, a boiling, black rage began to bubble deep in my mind, washing away my terror and horror. I could feel my consciousness fading away, my vision darkening, much like it had earlier when I was fighting Technus, back in _my_ world.

I clawed desperately at the lip of the black hole I was being pulled into, fearing the darkness, the rage, and the violence that lay within my darkest nightmares; but I could feel my control slipping, and as I closed my eyes with a terrified gasp, I knew that I needed some kind of anchor, a life line to grab onto, something to pull me out.

Just as I was about to slip into the darkness, about to unleash my fury on the Captain who sentenced me to death with no excuse, one single word rang out, the exclamation bringing me back to reality (or, really, the game's reality)

"NO!" Hadvar exclaimed, as did a few other soldiers.

The Stormcloak prisoners, on the other hand, were an entirely different story; most were cheering the captain's decision, shouting things like "Death to elven scum!" and "Kill the Dark Elf!"

I looked at them in confusion, before jumping slightly as Hadvar (once again) clapped his hand over my shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly, as he rounded on the female Captain, eyes ablaze. "Captain! What are you thinking? He's just a lad!"

The Captain narrowed her eyes, placing one hand on her sword and the other on her hip as she whirled to face my protector, eyes narrowed to slits as she ground out, "Are you defying my _orders_ soldier? I'll have _you_ executed for insubordination!"

"Captain! Please be reasonable! Why do you want to execute the boy?" A woman in expansive golden robes pleaded, and I noticed with shock that, under her hood, her eyes were a bright, shining gold, her skin was as fair as Sam's, (maybe even paler), and most of all, her ears were large and pointed...and currently dropped in an unmistakable sign of fear and sadness.

"He was with the Stormcloaks! He was at their camp! He was sneaking up on Rajvek, as he subdued Ulfric!" The Captain spat, ripping her helmet off with a shaking hand, dark hair flying as she rounded on the priestess.

"Don't you think it makes much more sense for an adolescent dark elf to have been captured by the Stormcloaks and taken prisoner, than it does for any elf to have joined them willingly, for a merry jaunt through the woods?" The priestess replied, and I wondered why the heck they were all referring to me as a 'dark elf.'

Glancing down at my hands again, as they continued arguing over my fate, I wondered what exactly was wrong with them. They didn't hurt, aside from some slight pain where the ropes were biting into my skin, so my earlier thought that I must have bruised them somehow, was ridiculous in retrospect; to be that discolored, I'd probably have had to break both my wrists or something in the fall...

"General Tullius? What say you in this matter, as you are the ranking officer?" The priestess spoke again, turning to a man in finely tanned, dark leather armour, with bright, golden plates highlighting it, on his chest was the same diamond-shaped dragon symbol that had been on the disc that started all of this; the tunic he wore under the armour was a dark crimson, making the man looked the part of a perfect roman soldier—in fact, he distinctly looked like Julius Caesar, from the cover of the book Mr. Lancer had made us read, gray hair and all.

I wondered if _he_ wanted to be king.

Just as the man opened his mouth to respond, a loud, reverberating roar echoed from the mountains, startling the horses and causing all those present to look around nervously; three of the soldiers standing behind me began to mutter amongst themselves.

"What was _that?"_

"Did you hear that?"

"It sounded like it came from the mountains!"

"Do you think it was a troll?"

"Idiot! Trolls don't sound like that!"

"Well, what do _you_ think it was, then?"

"Maybe it was a _fox_."

"Or a _chicken_..."

"Oh _shut up_, will you?"

I was once again, confused out of my mind as I heard two of the men teasing the third, until I realized that this was not real—something I kept forgetting, which was troubling in and of itself—and things like trolls, unicorns and the like probably existed in this world.

"You three in the back! Silence this instant, or you'll be assigned clean up duty!"

That shut the soldiers up real quick, and I watched, apprehensively as the General—Tullius, I think his name was—walked towards me. I looked up at him, knowing he held my fate in his hands, my usual arrogance and bravado long gone in the wake of Lokir's death.

General Tullius stared me down for a long moment, before surreptitiously glancing over at Blondie Number One, and Blondie Number Two, observing their disdainful glares they still sent in my direction. The General smiled and clapped a heavy hand onto my shoulder—something these men seemed especially fond of doing—before turning around to face the captain, as he pulled a small dagger from a sheath on his shoulder, and bringing it to my hands.

I flinched away from the blade, expecting him to slash my hands off or something, but he merely cut through the rope with practiced ease, before giving me a gentle push in Hadvar's direction. "The Lad's guilty of no crime. Hadvar, he's your responsibility—" Another roar echoed from the mountains, this time, louder, and closer than before.

General Tullius trailed off, mid-sentence, his eyes scanning the surrounding forest wearily, while I watched as all of the men (and women) around me placed a hand on wherever they kept their weapons; some of the pedestrian women pulled daggers out of their sleeves, while the Stormcloaks all reached to wherever they had previously sheathed their weapons, only to tense further when they remembered they were unarmed.

Hadvar grabbed onto my arm, pulling me close to his side as he readied his sword, his eyes too scanning the mountain range for whatever creature had made the sound.

I had the urge to switch to my ghost-form; the sound seemed to partially awaken that odd golden light, filling me with anxious anticipation, though for what, I wasn't sure. I had the urge to light my hands with ecto-energy, fists clenching, ready to rain down upon my enemies; ready to surround them in a blaze of ectoplasmic fire, cold enough to shatter steel.

After a tense minute, silent but for the sound of the nervous horses and men breathing, everyone relaxed slightly, the soldiers lowering their weapons, and sheathing them again now that the threat seemed non-forthcoming.

But still, the anticipation in my mind kept on drumming along, the golden light seeming to whisper words in some ancient, archaic language to the two other half's of my soul, in an inaudible chant, sounding eerily similar to the music that had played on the start menu when this whole mess had just begun.

"General, I think we need to either postpone the execution, or hurry it along. I don't know what manner of beast could sound like that, but I'd rather not cross blades with it" Said a voice behind me, and I recognized it as one of the men who had been teasing his friend about the troll comment; he no longer sounded in a humorous mood; he sounded as nervous as everyone else felt.

General Tullius nodded, signaling to the priestess. "Give them their last rites." He commanded, and the elven woman nodded, golden eyes solemn as she took her place beside and a little in front of a large man in a foreboding black mask, who held a large axe in his black-gloved hands. I failed to suppress a shudder at the sight. The axe was bloodstained; the blade was dyed a deep, gruesome crimson.

"As we commend your souls to Atheirous, blessings of the Divines upon you; As you travel to the plains of—" The priestess began, before one of the Stormcloaks, the one standing nearest the front of the group interrupted impatiently.

"For the love of Talos, shut up, and let's get this over with already!" The blonde man said (by god, were all these people blonde?!), stalking forward before kneeling in front of a roughly hewn block of bloodstained stone, with an equally bloodied, wooden crate on the ground in front of it.

"As...you wish" The priestess said reluctantly, as she lowered her arms obediently, though I could see her finishing the prayer under her breath as she glanced away from the executioner.

"My Ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" The man said haughtily, as he rested his head on the block of stone, while the headsman took up his stance.

My eyes widened in horror as I watched the headsman lift the great axe into the air, preparing to swing as he hefted it over his shoulder.

"No! You can't kill them!" I shouted, or at least I tried to; my voice came out as a strangled, horrified whisper, but Hadvar heard me. He quickly pulled me back as I tried to rush forward; I was _not_ going to let anyone else die today! Even if it was someone who obviously wouldn't give me the time of the day, it didn't matter to me. I was supposed to be a hero!

"Don't, lad! You can't help them; all of those men are criminals; murderers. They've killed enough of your kind to more than warrant execution!"

"I don't care! I can't just let them die! They're people!" I cried as I tugged on the arm holding me in place, but Hadvar's grip was unrelenting.

As I watched the executioner beginning the swing that would bring another death on my hands, already stained with Lokir's blood, I turned my head away in shame, unable to look as a man was murdered, and it was all my fault.

_I couldn't save him._

I squeezed my eyes tightly, turning my face away, waiting in terror for the sickening squelch, to be followed by a soft, wet thud that my imagination supplied, very unhelpfully in my mind.

I was so tense, waiting to hear the sound that would signal the beginning of my path towards becoming my murdering, evil future self, that I literally jumped a foot in the air when one of the Imperials bellowed out in panic, "WHAT IN OBLIVION IS THAT?!"

Beside me, Hadvar stumbled backwards, releasing my arm in his shock, and I turned in time to see a massive, black _dragon _land on the ramparts at the top of a small sentry tower, massive, spider-webbed wings spread as it roared to the sky... which suddenly seemed to shudder and crack, jagged red light spilling from the clouds as waves of meteors abruptly appeared from the fissures in the sky, streaking straight down to smash into the ground in great explosions of fire and super-heated rock.

"Dragon!" someone screamed, and all hell broke loose.

* * *

**AN: muhaha, I can't wait until you guys read the next chapter-it is my absolute favorite and is frakking hilarious! *sighs* oh, how I love my writing...**

**To everyone reading, please review! I need to know you guys actually like this! In the mean time, many thanks go to ShadowedFang (who has left 3 of the 5 reviews!), Trinity Fenton-Phantom, and, uh, **,** though i'm not entirely sure if they were trolling or not...oh well, it's another review towards the count! =D**


	5. Chapter 4

خاصتك يكون التنين المولد، داني ... Chapter Four خاصتك يكون التنين المولد، داني ...  
Morndas, 3rd of Last Seed  
(Monday, August 3rd.)

The second the dragon attacked, and everyone around me was in danger, was the second that everything became clear again.

I was not some sniffling little freshman, who couldn't defend himself against bullies, let alone frakking ghost dragons; I wasn't some weak, pathetic human; I was a half-ghost super hero.

I felt a burst of energy as adrenaline shot through my veins, already reaching inside to grab the green energy of my ghost half—but I discovered with no small amount of shock, that it was no longer there. Where there had once been a green, a blue, and a golden energy, there was now a freezing, weightless blue, a fiery, ancient gold, and some weird black and red soul that pulsed with the beat of my heart. I had no idea what had happened to the human part of my soul, but now was not the time to find out.

I reached out again to the blue energy, which felt most like my original ghost half had, but the gold energy intercepted my ethereal hand, the chanting from before becoming a roar in my mind as the golden light enveloped my mind.

_Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin,_  
_Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!_  
_Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan,_  
_Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!_

When I opened my eyes less than a second after I had closed them, I saw, to my surprise, that everyone wasn't running around shrieking in terror like I had expected.

Nope. Instead, these people were squaring up for a fight, shooting arrows, throwing heavy rocks with catapults, little vials of who knew what—and _was that fire?!_

_'Huzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod,_  
_Ahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein!_  
_Wo lost fron wah ney dov, ahrk fin reyliik do jul,_  
_Voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein'_

_'This is a game, remember?'_ My mind demanded, and I realized that it was right. This world didn't have the same laws as my own; people here could probably use magic.

_Ahrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod,_  
_Rul lot Taazokaan motaad voth kein!_  
_Sahrot Thu'um, med aan tuz, vey zeim hokoron pah,_  
_Ol fin Dovahkiin komeyt ok rein!_

_In fact..._

_Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin,_  
_Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!_  
_Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan,_  
_Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!_

With barely a thought to delay my action, I instinctively lit my hands with ecto-energy—only to feel an odd heat, and when I glanced down, I saw that my hand was enshrouded in flames.

That. Is. _Awesome!_

_Ahrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah, _  
_Tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein!_  
_Alduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau,_  
_Voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein!_

Lighting my other hand, I charged forward, having momentarily forgotten about the danger, until I saw the dragon swoop down and grab one of the archers off the wall, and carry him into the sky; I immediately released the flames, sending them spiraling up, heading straight towards the dragon's crested head—and missed its tail by a straight mile.

Wow. I _really_ need to work on my aim with this new power/magic...

I growled in frustration when I tried to reach out for what felt like my ghost half, wanting to fly up and rescue the soldier, only for that stupid gold light to block the way again, the chanting getting louder and louder in my mind, until the ancient voices were practically screaming:

_Nuz aan sul, fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok,_  
_Fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz!_  
_Paaz Keizaal fen kos stin nol bein Alduin jot,_  
_Dovahkiin kos fin saviik do muz!_

_Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin,_  
_Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!_  
_Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan_  
_Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!_

Suddenly, just as the last verses echoed in my mind, the massive black dragon seemed to start, and it quickly jerked it's head to look down, as if something had startled it.

Blood red eyes stared directly into my own.

With a deafening roar, the beast dropped the guard, who plummeted out of sight with a scream and a sickening thud, as I stared, spellbound, into the eyes of the dragon, seeing a very familiar golden light shining in it's surprisingly intelligent eyes.

_You have _got_ to be kidding me_. I thought, as the massive, black nightmare landed a scarce twenty feet from me, eyes narrowed and teeth bared.

The massive creature opened it's mouth, and instead of a swift death via barbecue a la dragon, words, guttural, and foreign, but unmistakably words issued from between fangs as long as my forearm.

"Zu'u Alduin. Zok sahrot do naan ko Lein; wo kos him, mal Dovahkiin?"** The dragon seemed to hiss in a mocking voice, not even heeding the slew of arrows and fire raining down upon its back in a veritable storm, but for a small twitch of its wing that acted as a shield from the worst of the projectiles.

The golden soul half (or third) in my mind was practically roaring, demanding for me to answer this dragon's challenge, though what the challenge was exactly, I had no idea.

I opened my mouth, about to make some witty remark that would sound super cool, (and would probably get me eaten if I didn't move quick enough) when a particular arrow somehow bounced off of the dragon's wing, at just the right angle to send it ricocheting back towards its owner at high velocity.

A split second later, the cry of "ARGH! MY _KNEE!"_ Rang throughout the village, causing the dragon to glance over in the direction of the sound—just in time to take a massive fireball right to the face.

With an infuriated roar, the dragon launched itself back into the air, the gust if wind stirred up by it's wings was enough to send me stumbling back, and when the creature next opened it's mouth, it's eyes seemed to glow gold for an instant before a wave of pure energy slammed into me, catching me completely off guard and sending me crashing back, straight into Hadvar's arms. I realized with slight consternation that he had been shouting at me to get into the tower, whereever that was, since the dragon had arrived.

"Are you crazy?! Unless you want to meet your ancestors today, GET INTO THE TOWER WITH THE OTHERS!" Hadvar shouted in my ear, as he once again grabbed my arm, ready to drag me to the tower where all the civilians were.

Overhead, the dragon roared again, and the ground next to us erupted into dust and debree as another wave of energy like earlier crashed into it, just barely missing our arguing forms. All around us, the soldiers shouted and screamed as they tried, fruitlessly, to even put a scratch on the dragon's pitch black, spiky scales.

"No!" I protested, "I have to fight it! I can't let it hurt anyone else! I'm—"

"You're what? An underfed refugee from Morrowind, a child who just got captured by Stormcloaks and nearly executed? _Why_ do you have to fight it? Why _should_ you have to fight it?" He demanded, and I stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words.

_Wait a minute! Did he just call me __skinny!? __I've got plenty of muscle, thank you very_—"Hey!" I protested, as he effortlessly succeeded in tossing me through the doorway into a cylindrical tower.

"C-could the legends be true? Was that really a dragon?" Someone asked just as I stood and brushed my tattered clothing off, and I glanced up, wondering if they were in denial, or just plain dumb.

And looked straight into the glaring eyes of Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm, (wherever that was), Killer of Kings, Leader of the Stormcloaks (very creative name, by the way, they'll never know who you support) and all around evil guy with an odd fascination with glaring at teenage half-ghosts for no good reason (that I knew of).

Immediately all the bravado that personified my ghost half left me, and I was once again the scared little teenager.

"Legends don't burn down villages" Ulfric said in a dramatic, creepy, and deep voice; I got the feeling that this was the kind of man who knew how to speak his mind when the time was right, and when to stay silent, to let your enemies draw their own conclusions. He reminded me of Vlad, though I was pretty sure my archenemy would never resort to murder...except of course, in my father's case, but I doubted he would ever actually go through with it. I mean sure, he'd gotten close, and he was always threatening to do it, but that was it.

Vlad knew that if he ever actually crossed that line, he would have no hope of bringing either me or my mother to his side, willing or not. Also, I'm pretty sure that just the concept of killing someone was distasteful to him. He was already in the almost constant company of ghosts; I doubt he'd want to willingly create one (that wasn't an attempted clone of me), and spend the rest of his afterlife being haunted—by my father no less.

"C'mon, Danel, we can't stay here. It's not safe" Hadvar spoke from beside me, his grip on my arm tightening slightly when he saw Ulfric, grand master of creepy rudeness, glaring at me still.

"Yeah..." I agreed, backing up a step as I saw a very faint glimmer of gold hidden in the depths Ulfric's eyes and, realized that the Yarl was no longer gagged.

Whatever that gold energy in my head was (That STILL wouldn't stop chanting, though it was much quieter now), Ulfric had it too, a lot less than me, but enough. And that dragon seemed to have the most of it, out of all of us.

I walked backwards, following Hadvar to the foot of the stairs, unwilling to turn my back on the obvious threat.

Hadvar released my arm when it was obvious I was going to cooperate, and gestured for me to go up the stairs first. I complied, and quickly ascended the steep, stone steps 'ooh,' I realized, 'nice alliteration—or was that the other one? Either way, Mr. Lancer would be proud.' The thought had hardly crossed my mind before the stone wall barely a foot in front of me exploded, a wave of blazing red fire blasting straight through the solid rock, and though that should have been impossible, the fact that there was a dragon in the first place, I had ghost powers, and was currently trapped in a video game kinda made it as surprising as a regular visit from the Box Ghost.

As the sound of massive wings slicing through the air faded away, I quickly glanced through the hole and saw a burning building next to us, with a hole in the thatched (or at least, I think that's the right word...no one ever actually described it in those books Lancer made us read) roof, showing some relatively stable looking wooden floor.

"See that inn over there? You're gonna have to jump! It's our only way out, so we can get to the Keep!"

_Of__ course__ it is._

I glanced back at Hadvar, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Come on lad, we'll be right behind you!"

Turning back to the building, I could only hope that I would be able to make the jump with my ghost powers not working properly.

Taking a deep breath, I tried my best to ignore the furious dragon that screamed overhead, sending fire balls raining like...well uh, like rain onto the burning town.

Exhaling, I braced myself—

And leaped into the void.

**الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال ****Author's Note الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**

**Many thanks to everyone that's reviewed, favorited, and followed so far! You don't know how much it means to me!**


	6. Chapter 5

**هذا هو ما أنا مقدر أنا ل، بل أمر لا مفر منه ****Chapter Five** **هذا هو ما أنا مقدر أنا ل، بل أمر لا مفر منه**

**Morndas, 3****rd**** of Last Seed**

(**Monday, August 3****rd****.)**

تحذير**[Warning: this chapter contains slight descriptions blood and gore]** تحذير

**تحذير{Trust me, it was must worse before I took the actual scene out; it'll be inserted later in the story}تحذير**

Crap.

Where did Hadvar just disappear to?

I crouched down, hiding myself as best I could among the foliage—ooh, fancy word there, Fenton—and strained my eyes and ears as I looked around the forested area the cave had let out into. Around five minutes prior, the dragon had flown off into the distance, leaving a devastated Helgen in its wake.

After that, I'd gotten distracted by the scenery all around us, along with this super weird pulling sensation in my mind, and hadn't heard a word of what Hadvar had been saying.

Or, apparently, noticed when he'd up and walked away, probably expecting me to follow him.

Hearing nothing, and seeing no sign of my new friend, I slowly straightened up, picked a random direction, and started walking.

After all, if this was a game, surely something would pop up, telling me where to go? It wouldn't just let me wander in the complete opposite direction of where I was supposed to go, would it? Something always stopped you, whether it was invisible walls, thinking to yourself _'Oooh, shouldn't I be going that way?'_ or a crazy guy screaming "YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!" whilst brandishing a rubber duck, something _always_ stopped you from leaving the main quest, objective, whatever it was called, behind.

Trudging into the forest, I glanced around appreciatively at all the trees and flowers around me, stunning me with their details (though it really shouldn't surprise me, whenever I went into a game, either by choice or an enemy forcing my hand, everything took on a life-like look _[more alliteration! Told you I was paying attention, Mr. Lancer!]_ Than the original graphics the games had in the real world).

As I stumbled along through the woods, I shifted uncomfortably in the heavy metal armour I had donned back in the keep, almost stumbling over a blade of grass in the large, unwieldy boots that were two sizes too big. Unfortunately, it was all I had, unless I wanted to put on those pathetic excuses for socks, let alone _shoes_ I had been wearing when I woke up in Skyrim, I was stuck with them.

_Although,_ I thought, _I could probably stuff them and those tattered clothes into the boots, so they're not so big..._

Just as I was pondering this, lost in my own thoughts, I managed to step directly onto a small branch, which broke neatly in half with a loud snapping noise, sounding _exactly_ like the stereotypical scene in a movie where someone is trying to sneak away from danger, steps on a branch, and suddenly everyone is staring at them, swords raised, words of magical death and doom upon their lips—

_Frak_.

I stared straight into the eyes of five mean-looking men and women, clothed in random bits of armour of different styles, glaring at me with swords raised and words of magical death and doom upon their lips.

Did I mention they were staring at me?

"AIIIIE!" One of the woman screamed, as she suddenly charged at me, a chipped and worn battle axe clutched in her bony hands.

With their own battle-cries, all the other bandits rushed forward, screaming as they held high their swords, bloodied battle axes, maces, clubs, and hands glowing with deadly magic.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" I screamed, and backed up hastily, tripping over my stupid, heavy, useless metal boots to land heavily on the ground. "HADVAR! HELP!" _Where the frak was he?_

Around me, the thugs burst into guffaws, circling around me as the woman who had shrieked swung her axe in large back and forth motions, gaining her a large area of space around her as the others shied away from the sharp weapon.

"What's the matter, little elf?" She cackled, her dirty blonde hair matted with blood, swinging the axe as she spun around in a dramatic circle, crazed eyes glancing in all directions, "Can you not find you're poor little friend, Hadvar? Don't worry...I know where he is!"

My eyes widened when her gaze once again landed on me, the axe suddenly _right_ in front of my face as the woman laughed sardonically.

"Wha-what do you mean?" I demanded, eyes widening in fear; _Hadvar couldn't have run into these guys...could he?_ "What did you do to him!?" I shouted, making to stand, before I realized the axe's blade was still less than five inches from my nose. Around me, the other thugs chuckled again, hefting their weapons in their hands as they waited.

Without my ghost powers, I was helpless. If only that stupid gold energy would stop getting in the way...

"What did we do to him? Oh, nothing really, just a slice here, a stab there..." The woman accentuated her horrifying words by suddenly sheathing the axe and pulling out a small dagger instead. Before I could really react, the blade was slicing through the air towards me, and I barely had time to raise my arm to shield my face before pain exploded in my arm, sending electricity sparking through my nerves, all three soul pieces in my mind writhing and howling as blood began to pool from the slice on my arm.

Eyes wide in terror, I managed to tear my gaze away from the nauseatingly deep cut long enough to comprehend the crazy lady's words.

_No...Hadvar...he's..._

Suddenly, absolute, black fury filled me, and this time, I wasn't able to resist it like I had in Helgen. As much as I hated to think it, this wasn't some random guy who sat in a cart with me. This was someone I had begun to consider a friend.

And he had been_ murdered _by these brutes.

With a roar, the Darkness sprang from the pit in my mind, and the world faded into nothingness.

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

With a last surge of cold energy, the Darkness faded back into the deepest corners of my mind, and when I opened my eyes, I could only stare in horror at what the Darkness had done.

All I had time to register, before I passed out from all the energy I had expended, was that the mud I was kneeling in was _red_, and that I was covered in it.

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

_Hazy bird calls; an owl hooted._

_Night._

_A chill breeze ruffling through my hair._

_Footsteps._

_Snuffling, like an animal._

_Something like fur softly brushing again my face._

_A cold nose pressing into my hand..._

"AHH!" With a scream of panic I jolted upright, sending a small fox scurrying at my sudden movement.

Glancing around for the threat, I quickly brought my arms up, hands clenched into fists, as I waited for whatever it was to attack.

Heart pounding, I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, I started to relax, figuring whatever it was had finally left me alone.

Raising a hand, I made to move the dark hair that was hanging in my eyes.

Wait.

_Dark...?_

Suddenly, the fear was back.

Though I knew that, (theoretically) since it was night, then everything should appear darker. But not my hair. Never my hair; even in this world, it always shone with a subtle brilliance; luckily, the glow was only noticeable to ghosts or half-ghosts like me.

Breathing more rapidly, I slowly reached my hand up to my hair again, and gently grasped the tuft of dark hair between my fingers, slowly rubbing them back and forth as I felt an odd, dry flaky substance on both my hair _and_ my hand.

Mystified, and becoming more and more terrified, I cast my mind about sluggishly, knowing I needed a light of some kind.

Then I remembered.

Slowly, I released the tuft of hair and curled my fingers slightly, getting ready.

Slowly, I took a deep breath, gathering the energy.

It took awhile; I must have used a lot of it earlier, before I passed out.

Slowly, I drew in one more deep breath to steady myself as much as possible...

And suddenly, my hand was enshrouded in feeble, weak, orange flames.

It was enough.

It was enough to highlight the dark crimson my hair had been stained.

It was enough to clearly show the mixture of water, dirt, and blood I had passed out on.

It was enough to illuminate the pale, bloodless hand that lay within arm's reach of my own.

When the screams began, I wasn't sure they would ever stop.

"NO! Oh gods, no no no nononononono!" I screamed, jerking away from the hand; jumping unsteadily to my feet, I stumbled backwards, tears pouring down my face as I looked frantically around the clearing for a way out, desperate not to see the four other decimated corpses around me, but it was impossible; once I saw them, I would never be able to _un-see them!_

The orc, with all but his head covered in a thick layer of bloody ice, his face split cleanly in half, exposing the shattered bones of his skull within, while his helmet held it all together, somehow still intact.

A woman, with her dark red hair covered in a layer of frost, leaving her skin a sickening shade of blue; a shade of blue that obscenely matching the iced over eyes that were staring up at me from where the woman had collapsed in a heap.

Two men, one with tan skin made pale by the ice that covered him, and one with a deep, reddish brown. That was the only way you could differentiate between the two, in the mangled pile they had been tossed into.

And, pinned (by a very familiar sword) to a large, ice-encrusted tree, was the crazed woman that had killed Hadvar.

The details...I couldn't even begin to tell you. I don't think I could. I wouldn't even want to try.

All I saw before I was reintroduced to the scant carnival food I had eaten so very long ago, was flayed, bloody skin and ribs.

Unable to stand the sight and smell of the clearing any longer, I stumbled fully to the my feet, by some strength of will I didn't know I could posses at this point, and forced myself into a dead run, sprinting away from the clearing as fast as my body could carry me, somehow managing to not trip out of those useless metal boots as the decline steepened, ending in an abrupt stop at a wide, rushing river.

With a sob of relief, I jumped into the river, the rapid current going unheeded as I worked to scrub the blood out of my hair, off of my hands, rubbing my hands raw and nearly drowning as I cleaned off those blasted boots, scraping them against the rocks and grass along the edge of the bank to get all the...gore...out of the creases on the bottom on the boots.

Grabbing some purple flowers I recognized as lavender from the bank, I crushed the purple petals in my hand, working it into a weak lather before massaging it into my hair.

I had no idea where I'd read/seen it, but I was pretty sure flowers you knew to be safe made good soaps/shampoos...I think.

Dunking under the water, I scrubbed at my hair, washing all the dirt, blood and grime out of it for what felt like the millionth time; when I opened my eyes, I could clearly see the (finally clean!) white strands swaying in the current of the river as it slowly pushed me downstream.

Surfacing once more, I grabbed some more lavender plants, took a deep breath, and went under again, this time scrubbing at the armour I wore, and the leather tunic underneath. Opening my eyes once the make-shift soap had been washed away, I glanced around, wondering how the water was so clear, as I slowly sank to the bottom due to the heavy armour I still wore.

Suddenly, I saw movement.

Something was darting around in the darker depths of the river.

With a choked cry, I backpedaled, flailing frantically in the water, bubbles exploding around me as I attempted to get as far away as possible from whatever the hell it was.

When my back his the rocks, I turned and clawed at them, my panic so great that managed to cut my forearms and hands pretty badly before I even began my ascent to the surface.

With a gasp, I resurfaced, and clawed my way onto the grassy river bank; once I was on dry land, I whirled around, hands extended, once again enshrouded in flames that I instinctively called forth.

I gave a scream when I saw a demonic visage staring out at me of the river, all grey skin, wild, red eyes, sharp cheekbones and pointy ears—and then I saw the white hair, dripping wet, and realized with an oddly numbed feeling (compared to the terror I was still feeling) of shock, that my appearance must have changed when I came into the game of Skyrim. No wonder everyone had been calling me a dark elf.

A sudden movement in the water again reminded me of my situation, and I immediately shot streams of fire at it, missing the monster by a hair's breadth, while I managed to set some of the grasses on the opposite river bank a-smolder.

I stood there, staring in terror at the water, shooting bursts of flame at anything that made the slightest movement, waiting for the monster in the river to show it's ugly face.

And so I stood there, for who knows how long, dripping wet in the freezing cold night, sobbing, tiring myself out while simultaneously driving myself deeper and deeper into terrified paranoia, images of the clearing flashing through my mind over and over again as I imagined the monster within my mind coming out to play with the creature in the river...

Shifting my weight, I glanced up slightly when I noticed it was getting brighter. Blinking, I looked towards the horizon and nearly collapsed in shock.

The sun was rising.

_How long have I been standing here, staring at nothing?!_

I stumbled back, collapsing to the ground, flames extinguished as I stared numbly around me, clutching my aching head, gripping my long-dried hair between my fingers, knowing I was going insane.

Leaning back slightly, I felt something pressing into my calf. Glancing down, I glared at the metal boots, wondering why in the world I was still wearing the stupid things. Making up my mind, I reached down and began tugging at them, starting with the one that was bugging me. After a minute of struggling, I finally succeeded in pulling it off.

And stared.

For there, strapped to the inside of my left boot, was my phone, safely stored in a zip-lock bag.

How the hell did I NOT remember I put it there?!

I was incredibly lucky that Mom had reminded me that Amity Adventures Park had water rides, and had made me put my phone in a Fenton Anti-ghost Sandwitch Bag.

Completely ignoring the other boot, I grabbed the bag with shaking hands, and ripped it open, and grasped the technological miracle to my chest, breathing heavily as I remembered Hadvar questioning the odd device when we were trapped in the caves under the keep.

_"Hey Danel, what is that? You've been really, uh, protective of it." Hadvar said with a confused frown as he examined my Fenton Cellular Phone over my shoulder. We were in some kind of storage room, and the walls were lined with barrels and crates of all sized; most were empty, but a few had bits of food and useful tools in them._

_"Uhh..." Was my vastly intelligent reply, while I tried to think quickly, having no idea what to say to his question without sounding suspicious._

_"Looks like some of the Dwemer technology I've seen. Pretty impressive, those Dwarves, I have to say. Powered by magic, their machines are, built thousands of years ago, and yet they still work even to this day. I bet you or maybe a close relative found it in some of their ruins in Morrowind, am I right?" The Imperial soldier questioned as he busied himself, grabbing some tomatoes, potatoes, what I'm pretty sure were called Leeks, and hunks of bread off of some shelves, along with some oddly colored bottles, labeled 'healing' 'stamina' and 'magicka'._

_"Uh, yeah, my mom gave it to me, before..." I answered, trailing off into silence as Hadvar split the pile of supplies in half, and handing me my share._

_"That's okay, Danel, you don't need to tell me more than you're comfortable with. Come here, let me organize your pack. That's the key to survival in Skyrim: organization! You need to know exactly where everything is, so you can get to it in a hurry." Hadvar said, taking the extra backpack-styled bag he had given me earlier and flipping it open. He tutted under his breath when he saw the hastily thrown in rags that I had worn when I entered the game, along with the scattered bits of gold, and some armour scraps, like bracers and gloves._

_"Okay, Danel, first of all, these packs have Imperial-Grade enchantments on them, allowing you to fit just about anything in it, as long as you can carry all of the weight. See?"_

_Here, Hadvar stuck his hand into the bag, and leaned forward, all but his shoulder visible while I watched with wide eyes._

_"Holy Frak. It's _bigger on the inside!"_ I whisper shouted, laughter managing to escape my mouth before I covered my mouth with both hands, simply astonished. At that moment, I became determined to learn how to enchant things... if I was even here long enough to do that; Sam, Tucker and Jazz were probably already figuring out a way to get me out of here._

_"Hey, watch the language, mister...though I'm not exactly sure what you just said" Hadvar muttered the last part under his breath, smiling at me as he proceeded to show me all the different sections, how to select the proper object out of them, how to keep them organized, etc. Potions that healed or benefited me when on the right side of the pack, where they were further separated into different pockets of immeasurable depth, while on the left, poisons would be stored, though why I would ever even dream of using poisons, I didn't know, though I seriously doubted I would get into enough trouble to use them._

_Regular clothes went into one section, armour in another, weapons like bows, swords and other sharp and or deadly objects went into special slots that seemed to swallow the lethal weapons whole, to be easily recalled after imagining the desired object in your mind. Arrows were stored similarly, as were shields. Gold went to an easily accessible pouch near the top, and things like rings, necklaces, and other jewelry would be stored next to it. Food was put in a special compartment that was kept at a freezing temperature, the enchantment so expertly cast that any piece of food could go from frozen to room temperature as soon as it was taken out to be eaten._

Suddenly coming back to the present, I looked down at the cell phone again and flipped it open. Holding my breath, I pressed the power button, and waited.

The screen lit up with a musical beep.

I had to choke back the sobs that wanted to escape my throat, knowing I had to be calm when I called. But it was difficult.

_I can go home!_

Suddenly, I had a horrible thought. I almost certainly would have dropped the phone in the mud if my fingers didn't clench around it convulsively.

_Will they even want a monster like me?_

I did cry then, when I realized what my family and friends would think of me, if they could see me now. I had murdered five people in cold blood. Not only murdered, I had _massacred _them!

_I'm as bad as my future self..._

Just as I was about to throw my phone into the river in a fit of depressed insanity, I suddenly heard music; I glanced down at my phone, to see it had a little music note in the top corner. I must have bumped something on it.

In an instant, I recognized the music, and more tears gathered in my eyes as I listened:

**You're not alone  
Together we stand  
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand  
When it gets cold  
And it feels like the end  
There's no place to go  
You know I won't give in  
No I won't give in**

_Sam,_ I thought, with a small, hopeful smile. She had hacked my phone like she promised, in an attempt to get me to listen to more of her 'rebelling against the machine' music, though I was surprised she liked this song; it was so full of hope, but that was exactly what I needed at the moment, so I was grateful either way.

**Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you;  
There's nothing you could say,  
Nothing you could do,  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth;  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through...**

So far away,  
I wish you were here;  
Before it's too late, this could all disappear.  
Before the doors close,  
And it comes to an end,  
With you by my side I will fight and defend!  
I'll fight and defend!  
Yeah, yeah!

With a determined grin on my face, I hefted myself to my feet, wiping the tears away as I listened, clutching the precious piece of technology in my hand as I walked along the river's edge, heading farther and farther downstream, so I could get as far away from the monster as possible before I washed my face off again.

**Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through,  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you!  
There's nothing you could say,  
Nothing you could do;  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth!  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through...**

While I listened, I remembered that Sam and Tucker had accepted me, even after they had seen what my older self had done to the world, (even if they didn't get the whole story;) I was pretty sure that, once I got the Darkness under control, I would be able to _keep_ it caged, in the back of my mind, never letting it taint the light of day again.

Hopefully.

Hear me when I say, when I say I believe:  
Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny;  
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly,  
Yeah, yeah, yeah,

**_yeah!_**

I frowned in consternation; there went my good mood. "Nothing's gonna change destiny"; my _original destiny_ had been to become the strongest being in both the human and ghost worlds, and I had used my power to destroy them both. And if destiny couldn't be changed...

**La da da da  
La da da da  
La da da da da da da da da**

I shook my head; I was getting too into this song; it was probably intended to mean something _a lot_ more positive than my dreary fate—something along the lines of finding your true love or something.

Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through;  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you!  
There's nothing you could say,  
Nothing you could do,  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth;  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through!

Keep holding on!

**_Keep holding on!_**

There's nothing you could say!  
Nothing you could do!  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth;  
So keep holding on!  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through...

As the song faded into the crisp morning air, the rising sun just beginning to warm the land, I looked behind me, at the path I had taken. Stumbled footsteps, imprinted in the mud, suddenly becoming straighter, more purposeful.

_Hopefully,_ I though as I turned forward again, holding my phone up as my finger hovered over the call button, _My path will _stay_ straight and purposeful. I'll be out of here by tonight, and I'll show the world that I am __**not**__ evil! I will __**not**__ let the Darkness take over me!_

**End of:**

**Tirdas, 4****th ****of Last Seed**

(**Tue****sday, August 4****th.**)

**Author's Note: **

**SONG: "Keep Holding On" By Avril Lavigne**

**Sorry about the weird line spacings; it copied them in when i pasted it into the Doc Manager, and i'm too lazy to go back and take them out. Also, i got no reviews last chapter! ='( that made me a bit sad, but the show must go on *sniffles* oh well! I got to have fun listening to my kindle read Nahlgraafkiin in it's entirety outloud to me in a hilarious-ly computerized voice that pronounced Dovakiin as "dough-vah-key-ine (as in 'dine')" **

**And not to mention that i've decided that a oneshot i'm currently writing is going to actually become a full-blown story (not sure how long it will be) =D it's called "Your Son" and it will be telling the untold story of the episode "Masters of All Time"-in a way i'm sure no one has portrayed it, or even noticed the signs! =D**


	7. Chapter 6

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Chapter Six **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

**Tirdas, 11****th ****of Last Seed**

Exactly seven days later, I was still lost in the woods.

Hopelessly.

Now, you're probably wondering why I haven't called my parents to get them to invent something to get me out of here, or my friends, to let them know I'm alright (well, physically at least; thank whoever is up there that Hadvar taught me those spells, or I would have one heck of an infection in my arm!)

The answer you are looking for is simple: my phone might be working, but it doesn't _work._ Confused? Don't be. Think about it. I was teleported to a mostly medieval/ and or magical world; that doesn't mean my electronics are going to just out of nowhere stop working; nope, it's much more sucky than that; it means _they won't have a signal!_

Which means, you get your hopes up, and then all you can do with a Fenton family version of a cell phone is detect ghosts, listen to depressing music (excluding one song so far) and watch your extended battery die a very slow, and very painful death.

...Probably like watching that crazy, murdering, bandit woman die, only with a lot less blood and gore.

With a sigh, I dropped down into a crouch, hunger driving me to hunt. I had already eaten all of the bread and various vegetables Hadvar had given me under the keep by the second day in the woods, and by now I was getting pretty good at hunting using the bow and arrows Hadvar had also given me and showed me how to use.

Now a-days, I only missed half the time.

Creeping forward through the underbrush, I kept to the shadows, straining my ears for the slightest sound.

Stopping behind a tree when I spotted movement ahead, I readied my bow; pulling it taut as I strained to see what I was aiming at. Suddenly, I heard a snort, and I flashed back to Helgen; right before that dragon had arrived, all of the horses had been acting really nervous, pawing the ground and snorting; that was _exactly_ the sound ahead of me.

Tensing even more as I realized that there could be people ahead, I glanced around my tree carefully, craning my neck, when I heard the creaking of wood and a muffled voice.

As the wagon drew closer and closer, I was able to make out what the man was saying, though it was still too far away for me to see what he looked like or who was with him.

"Don't worry, mother! Any blundering bandit foolish enough to cross dear Cicero will be met with a hasty end...heheheheheh!"

I relaxed slightly; it just sounded like someone bragging to their mom about how tough they were, albeit with a creepy chuckle.

_Hey,_ I thought, _Maybe this is the guy that will give me my quest, so I can get out of here!_

With a huge smile on my face, I sheathed all my weapons (not wanting to be seen as threatening) and straightened from my crouch; stepping out from behind the tree, I cupped my hands around my mouth and called out in the wagon's direction, "Hello?" My voice slightly raspy with disuse.

"EH? What was that?" The man's voice exclaimed in alarm, sounding close to hysteria, and I mentally face palmed. _Way to go, Fenton, scare the crap out of your quest giver, why don't you?_

**_Heh, why not scare him to _****_death_****_?_** The Darkness chimed in with a dark chuckle, but I quickly shoved the monster down, back into it's cage in the back of my mind; it went willingly; it knew that I knew that it knew it could escape anytime; this was just my way of appearing to be in control. I had learned that lesson not two days after finding my phone again, when I was attacked by what looked like Big Foot, only with three, beady black eyes.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," I called again, slowly stepping into view, hands raised in a gesture of peace, "I just wanted to know if you could help me with something."

Once I was fully out of the woods and onto the path, both physically and symbolically, I could finally see my quest giver.

A rather pale man with strong cheek bones peered out at me with wild, dark golden brown eyes from under a red jester's hat; in fact, he was clothed head to toe as a jester, the fabric a stripped mixture of orange and dark red, while his boots, gloves, and the fabric tossed over his shoulders was black trimmed in yellow, with subtle swirling designs on the cuffs.

"Oh? And who is this little elf that approaches humble Cicero for help?" the man mumbled to himself, and I suddenly had a very bad feeling.

Hopefully my crazy quest giver wasn't the 'mysterious and can't give you a straight answer to save your life' type. That would suck, since I'm currently failing English and couldn't even figure out some of the basic riddles Mr. Lancer had quizzed us on.

"Uh, I'm Dan—" Here, I stopped short. Normally I would have gone ahead and told him my name, but then I remembered Hadvar, and the longing to see his face again, alive and whole consumed me as I remembered what he had called me, mistaking it for my real name... "I'm Danel. Danel Fendyn."

The Jester—Cicero, if his muttering in third person was to be believed—nodded, and spoke again. "Well? What do you want with poor Cicero? He must hurry, or Mother will be late!"

"Um, is there anything you need help with?" I asked, wondering where his mother was, because with that absolutely massive crate in the back, there was no room whatsoever for anyone to sit back there (the box looked ready to go falling off the back at the slightest bump in the road). Unless of course she was _in_ the box, which would just be...weird.

"Why do you ask? Are you trying to trick poor Cicero? Trying to take his shiny, shiny gold and his mother from him, so you can hawk them off at the market?!" The man shouted, his voice rising in angry hysteria, and I quickly raised my hands in defense when he leapt off of the wagon and appeared, crouched in front of me, a dagger in his hand seemingly from out of nowhere.

"No, no! I just need a quest!" I yelped, backing away, desperately trying to keep the Darkness in its cage, while it screamed and howled in my mind at the threat.

The second the word 'quest' left my mouth, Cicero's behavior turned like a dime (or was it a switch?) and he smiled wickedly at me, dagger disappearing up his sleeve as he cocked his head to the side, contemplating me. "Oooh hoo hoo hoo! A quest? You want a quest? Poor Cicero had a quest! A Quest for you, little night elf!" The man cackled, doing a little jig while I watched warily.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"And...what is my quest?" I asked, watching him closely for any more concealed weapons, and spotting a steel dagger at his waist, though the one he had pulled out when he thought I was a thief had been black and looked much deadlier; the one in plain sight was probably just for show.

"Oh ho ho! You, little dark elf, must find the person responsible for a most heinous act, the savaging of five souls in such a vile manner that Mother herself must have had a hand in it!"

I had a very, very very bad feeling I knew who's souls he was talking about.

"Wh- what do you mean?" I stuttered out, inching my way backwards as slow as possible, already feeling the nausea rising in my throat at the memory of the clearing; all the blood, frozen over in freezing puddles of mud, the cold, lifeless bodies splayed across the forest floor...

"I want you to find the being that slaughtered some thieves in a clearing, about three days walk from here that a way" Here, Cicero pointed, while I numbly registered that I had been walking in circles for the past couple of days, "And bring them to me and Mother. I think she will be most interested in meeting them!" The crazed jester finished with another cackle, and I felt fear overtake the nausea.

"Wh-what do you want them for? Whatever killed them was—was evil! It ripped them apart!" I exclaimed, "I should have controlled myself better, I know what the Darkness is capable of—!" I gasped as I realized I had just given myself away. Clapping my hands over my mouth to stop myself from revealing more secrets, I backed up faster as the shock on Cicero's face turned into manic glee.

"What did you say?" He whispered, stepping slower, grinning broadly, eyes sparkling, looking more crazed than before.

"No— nothing! I didn't say anything!" I shouted hastily, but that only made the mad man laugh.

"You think you can fool the Fool of Hearts? Ahhahahaha HA! _You jest with the jester_!" The obviously insane man chuckled, twirling that hidden dagger around his finger as he stalked forward.

"Uh, yeah! I was joking! I'll, uh, just be on my way now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go and not massacre people with some crazy monster that definitely doesn't exist in my head—" And in that instant, my life-line turned broken dreams (Also known as my cell phone) came to life out of nowhere and started blasting loud music.

**_DRRHH DRRHH DRHH_**

**_DH DRHHH DH DH_**

**_DHRRH DRHHERD DERH_**

**_DER DH DER DH DH DE_**

As the blaring music of guitars and drums erupted from my pocket, I frantically clawed at my pants leg under my armour, trying to dig it out of its hiding spot so I could turn the music off before crazy Cicero decided to dismember me or something.

Then I heard the lyrics, and managed to somehow simultaneously face palm and scream in frustration.

**The secret side of me  
I never let you see;  
I keep it caged  
But I can't control it!  
So stay away from me!  
The beast is ugly;  
I feel the rage  
And I just can't hold it!**

I stared at Cicero in terror as I fumbled with the straps that held my armour on, wondering if it was such a good idea to take it off while Cicero was staring at me in awestruck wonder, his head cocked to the side as he listened, the black dagger held in a strong grip, the engraved blade seeming to give off a red-ish glow in the shadows.

**It's scratching on the walls  
(In the closet, in the halls)  
It comes awake  
And I can't control it;  
Hiding under the bed  
****_In my body, in my head_****  
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?  
Make it end!**

By now I had given up on my futile attempts to reach my phone, forced to wait for Cicero to react; I fisted my hands at my sides, ready to draw upon my magic at a moment's notice, but not wanting to draw attention to myself by making a preemptive move that could startle the so called "Fool of Hearts" into hostile action.

**I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin!  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster!  
I hate what I've become!  
The nightmare's just begun!  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster!  
I, I feel like a monster!  
I, I feel like a monster!**

Slowly, I could see Cicero's grin widening, further and further until I was afraid his face would rip in half in a mess of teeth and blood...and…_eew! Gross thoughts!_

**My secret side I keep  
Hid under lock and key  
I keep it caged  
But I can't control it  
Cause if I let him out  
(He'll tear me up  
And break me down)  
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?  
Make it end!**

**I feel it deep within,**  
**It's just beneath the skin!**  
**I must confess that I**  
**Feel like a monster!**  
**I hate what I've become!**  
**The nightmare's just begun!**  
**I must confess that I**  
**Feel like a monster!**

By now, Cicero had started laughing, loudly, uproariously; so much so that he was spooking his horse, which began to paw the ground and snort, tossing its mane nervously at the commotion its master was making.

And he wasn't the only one laughing; I could hear someone, some whispering, dry voice, like leaves scuttling along the ground in a breeze, or like the rattling of bones long forgotten, disturbed from their rightful rest.

**_My, my, little elf, you _****are****_ something..._**

As the woman's papery voice floated through my mind, I jerked into a more alert position while Cicero's laughter continued to wash over me, no longer hearing the music as I tried to locate the source of the voice.

**I feel it deep within!  
It's just beneath the skin!  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster!  
I, I feel like a monster!  
I, I feel like a monster!**

**It's hiding in the dark,  
It's teeth are razor sharp;  
There's no escape for me  
It wants my soul,  
It wants my heart!  
No one can hear me scream,  
Maybe it's just a dream—  
(Or maybe it's inside of me!)  
Stop this monster!**

"Who's there? Who are you?!" I shouted, looking around wildly. Cicero cut off his laughter at my abrupt exclamation, looking at me in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Little Slayer? There's no one but you, Cicero and...his..._Mother...?" _The man whispered the last word in an awed, fearful whisper, as if afraid his hopes were about to be dashed again.

**_Poor Cicero. Dear Cicero. Such a humble servant. But he will never hear my voice. For he is not the Listener..._**

"What? What's a Listener? WHO ARE YOU!?" I finally screamed, fearing that the Darkness had tainted my mind, finally driving me crazy, making me hear more voices than just my own evil side.

The music from my phone continued to play in the background, while Cicero stared at me, his deranged eyes hopeful and pleading for an answer to my question.**  
****_  
I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster!  
I hate what I've become!  
The nightmare's just begun!  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster!_**

The silence stretched on.

**_I feel it deep within!  
It's just beneath the skin!  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster!  
I'm gonna lose control!  
Here's something radical:  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster!_**

Cicero began to twitch slightly, looking impatient, a barely concealed rage building in his golden eyes.

**_I, I feel like a monster!_**

**_I, I feel like a monster!_**

**_I, I feel like a monster!_**

**_I, I feel like a monster!_**

**_I, I feel like a monster!_**

**_You are the one. You are my Listener. Only you have the privilege of hearing my voice; from now on, you _****_are_****_ my Voice; tell Cicero the time has come. Tell him the words he has been waiting for, all these years: 'Darkness rises when silence dies'..._**

"Who is speaking to you, Little Slayer?" Cicero demanded in a whisper, sounding desperate as he grabbed the front of my tunic in a shaking hand, dagger suddenly held in front of my neck in an equally shaking grasp.

"A— a woman. She— she says to tell you... 'Darkness rises when silence dies.' What does it mean?" I whispered to him, hardly noticing when the black dagger fell from his suddenly limp grasp to the ground with a clatter.

"She... she said that? She said those words... to you? _'Darkness rises when silence dies'_? But those are the words!" Cicero exclaimed, backing away from me, "The Binding Words! Written in the Keeping Tomes—the signal so I would know!_ Mother's only way of talking to sweet Cicero...! Then... it is true!_ " Cicero then started to dance maniacally, laughing in joy at the top of his lungs, finally succeeding in sending his horse into a frenzy, rearing and whinnying in distress.

"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" I shouted, utterly confused as to what the heck was happening.

_This had better be part of the quest!_ I thought desperately.

"She is back! Our Lady is back! She has chosen a Listener! She has chosen you! Ha ha ha! All hail the Listener!" Cicero cackled, before tackling me to the ground in an enthusiastic hug.

**Author's Note:**

**Song: 'Monster' by Skillet**

**Hey guys! i just wanted to say thank you to all the review's i've recieved so far! Each and every one of them means so much and inspires me to write! So far, if anyone has noticed, i've been updating every monday, but i think I will start updating every two weeks instead of one, so i have more time to concentrate on writing and school work =D**

**Sorry for the shortness, we'll be taking a peek back in Amity Park in the next chapter, due to be posted, let's see, on the 11th =D See you all next time, and please remember to review! Everytime you do, Cicero get's a sweetroll!**


	8. Author's Note: POV Survey (please read!)

**AN: ****Hey guys! don't panic, this isn't a HIATUS notice or anything like that, it's just a little survey I've got, because for my last story, "True Vamp", I had a few complaints about how it would have been better if I just sticked to one perspective, instead of the many that were contained within the story, and I wanted to know if you guys would want Nahlgraafkiin to be, from here on out, only in Danny's perspective (with a few special exceptions), and have what I've already written for Amity Park to be in another, parallel story?**

**SO, I would greatly, **_**greatly**_** appreciate a response to this, either in a review, or on the poll on my profile: to do it simply, just copy the selection you prefer and paste in into a review/vote on the poll, or, (please) go in to detail about what you would like to see from this story; I'm not saying i can do everything suggested, but I will weigh and consider the options you present to me.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~POV PREFERENCES:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`**

**1** Yes, keep it all in Danny's POV! But I don't care about the POV of the rest of them! focus on THIS story!

**2** Yes! Keep it all in Danny's POV, but make the rest in a parallel story!

**3** No, I want to see what's happening to everyone else, and I want it all in THIS story!

**4**Other (please specify in a review)

**Many Thanks in advance, **

**~Allebasii**


	9. Chapter 7

**AN:Ok, guys, the POV jumps might be a little confusing, (since they won't be put into a paralell story, as per the votes) but it is like this way for a reason, which probably won't be revealed [aka, said in plain english] until a couple of more chapters; kudos to anyone who figures out the significance in the mean time :D**

**קڔڊڄڱگڮججطختبضسضקڔڊڄڱگڮ קڔڊڄڱگڮ****Chapter Sevenקڔڊڄڱگڮججطختبضسضקڔڊڄڱگڮ קڔڊڄڱگڮ**

**Jazz:**

**Tuesday, August 4****th****.**

It had been only ten minutes since Tucker had called us; I had driven well over the speed limit the entire time it took us to get here— luckily, the police were swarming the school after the latest series of ghost attacks.

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

Clippty cloppity, clippty cloppity.

_'Easter's on its way!'_ I sang the half forgotten melody in my head as I listened to Cicero's horse trot along the dirt road in front of us, while said jester sat next to me, focused on the road, though he would occasionally break the silence with a giggle or random sentence.

"Sooo..." I said slowly, drawing out the word, not knowing exactly how to start the conversation, but finally just deciding to go with the direct approach; it hadn't failed me too many times in the past... "What exactly does a Listener do?"

It had only been a couple of minutes since Cicero had tackled me to the ground in a bear hug, and I was still a little pale; being attacked by a crazy jester definitely hadn't been on my list of things I wanted to do before I die; at least I had found my quest giver and some transportation...not to mention a way out of the endless woods I had been lost in.

"Why, listen of course! What else?" Cicero said, his voice still imitating the man from the punch line of the horker joke from a minute ago ("And I said to the man, 'that's not a horker! That's my wife'! Ah, I love that one...").

I sighed in slight exasperation, just barely resisting the urge to face palm. I doubted Cicero or the 'Night Mother' would care for their Listener damaging himself, especially after Cicero had apparently spent years looking for me.

"Yes, I know that I'm the only one that can hear the Night Mother, but what exactly am I listening for? Just her voice? Or will she tell me to do something?" I questioned, desperate to understand what exactly I was supposed to be doing in this world.

"Oh! Please forgive poor Cicero; he forgot that the great and mighty Listener was new to the ways of the Brotherhood!" Cicero exclaimed, glancing at me apologetically, "Cicero will tell you everything! Listen closely, little Listener, for humble Cicero will tell you the beginning of all..."

I leaned towards him, despite my earlier misgivings; after all, Cicero seemed pretty nice, once you got past the crazy part, and it's not like that was his fault, right?

"Well, according to legends, in the very very verrrryyy beginning, there was nothing; nothing, but unchanging 'stasis' known as Anu. Then, our Dread Father was born out of that nothing! His chaotic black light shone upon the nothing, and our lord Pandomay created the universe; he created change, and in doing so created other consciousnesses, oh yes! The first of Sithis' children to form their own identities was Akatosh, the Master of Time; with his forming, all of the other spirits gained the knowledge of time, and so were able to better understand themselves and create their own identities. Other minor gods formed under Sithis' watchful, dead eyes, and eventually, thanks to the trickster Lorkhan, Nirn was created, and the races of the world were born."

Here the crazed Jester paused to take a deep breath, while we bumped along the dirt road, the horse still clippity clippity-ing on its way.

I stared at Cicero is shock; that was the longest, most sane sounding speech I had heard him give in the scant, few minutes I had known him. I didn't realize that this so-called crazy jester could be so well spoken; it seemed Cicero had more depth to him than I had initially realized...

Maybe that expression 'Don't judge a book by its cover' actually had some meaning...

"After thousands of years of unstable time and magic, the gods left the mortal plane when Magic fled, creating the moon and the stars when they ripped their way through our plane to their own, immortal place, Magic creating the bright, blinding sun with his departure, while the lesser, weaker gods left more of their essence behind, creating the stars."

And so Cicero regaled me with the legends of the creation of the peoples of the world, how the Dark Brotherhood was formed under the guidance of the Night Mother, born as a Dark Elf woman who broke rank with the Thieves Guild, and bore Sithis five children—which she sacrificed in his honor. I shuddered at the thought, and wondered how anyone could be so fanatical about a god that they would kill their own children over them—and then I realized that, as I felt the steady whisper of dry leaves and rattling bones in my mind, I realized that yes, gods here were_ real_; they could interact with the mortals of this world or, at least the Daedra and primordial Deity's could, to some extent.

He explained what the different positions within the Dark Brotherhood were; The Listener, the Keeper, the Speakers and the Silencers, though he had heard tale that the Falkreath Sanctuary we were headed to had broken away from the old traditions, and that there was only one official Speaker now, a Red Guard man by the name of Nazir, while the leader of the small group, a woman named Astrid, sometimes gave assignments as well.

Three hours later, Cicero had finally finished his tale, and as we neared the first city, I was finally able to ask questions and confirm my thoughts.

"So, let me get this straight. When we assassinate people, we're sending their souls to the Void— to Sithis, also known as Pandomay, who was pretty much the creator of everything?" I asked as Cicero and I rode along the dirt road towards the huge enclosed city. Cicero nodded emphatically, his manic grin back in full force.

"Oh, yes indeed! By ending our targets live's here, we are saving their souls, by sending them screaming into the Void that is Sithis, the Dread Father, where they will once again become part of creation and destruction, life and death; they will become an agent of chaos, darkness, change, and the corrupting, inexpressible action!" Cicero's voice had risen to a shout in his impassioned speech, startling both the horse and I, and with a spooked jump from the horse, a loud, earsplitting _CRACK! _rent the air, and the wagon was jerked sharply to the side, nearly tipping over before settling back onto it's center of mass.

Leaping to our feet, both the Keeper and I jumped from the wagon's front, crouched in defensive positions, my with my bow drawn and an iron arrow nocked, ready at a moment's after lessons of well learned paranoia of being lost in the woods, while Cicero crouched by my side, that engraved black dagger glowing red in his clenched fist as we scanned the surrounding area for danger.

Ears twitching at the slightest sound, I looked around, straining my senses for the slightest sign of a threat, peering in every direction—_there!_

On the ground, directly under the left corner, was the shattered remains of the wheel that had once been solidly attached to the frame; it now lay in splintered pieces, two of the largest parts seemed to have snapped in half due to the jarring movement caused by the panicked horse, the wheel having managed to slam down on _just the right angle_ on a particularly sharp rock.

Seeing and hearing no other threats, I calmed down and relaxed slightly, straightening from my crouch; Cicero followed suit, though he still clutched the black dagger, his golden eyes flickering this way and that, obviously still tense.

"Cicero! I think the wheel broke on a rock; that's what made that loud noise," I informed the Keeper, who, after a quick, furtive glance in the direction I pointed, immediately burst into sobs.

"Agh!_ Bother and befuddle_! Stuck here! Stuuuuck! My mother, my _poor_ mother! Unmoving. At rest, but too still!" He cried to the air, weeping as he ran about the wagon, his hands gripping at the tails of his hat as he repeatedly tugged on them, making the bells jingle with a soft, mournful ring.

"Wagon wheel!_ Damnedest wagon wheel! _It broke! How will I bring Mother and the new Listener to our far away home now?!"

_Uh...?_

I stared at the mad jester, at a loss of what to do to calm him down. "Cicero, what's wrong? Can't we just get another wheel, or fix this one?" I questioned, feeling concern for the demented man.

Cicero immediately perked up, his eyes glittering in joy as he spun around to face me, childish delight shining in his eyes, as he once more sheathed his dagger. "Oh! What a wonderful idea! Cicero will go..." Here, the crazy Keeper spun in a short circle, before pointing in the direction of a farm, a little ways ahead of us. "There! Cicero will go there and ask the kind farmer for help! Surely they will help us for some shiny, gleamy coins, Listener?" He asked, looking towards me, and I shrugged.

"Sure, it's worth a shot. Do you want me to come with you, or...?" I queried, a little uneasy about sending the man off to an unknown place on his own; who knew what kind of trouble he could get into? And weren't people in medieval times prejudiced against crazy people, like Cicero? What if they tried to hurt him? Or lock him up in the loony bin?

_And why exactly am I worrying about him? He's my quest giver, nothing bad can happen to him...so why am I so worried for him?_ I thought to myself as Cicero waved off my question with an insane giggle.

"No, oh no no no no no _no_!" He said, sounding mildly offended at the thought of me having to do menial tasks, "The Listener must stay with Mother, to make sure that nothing happens to her! It is the Keeper's job to protect the Night Mother _and_ her Listener, and so humble Cicero will go to the farm; surely the great and mighty Listener is above such menial tasks?"

_Wow,_ I thought, as I watched him skip his way towards the farm, singing under his breath, _he just read my mind..._

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

A half an hour later, I was getting antsy; I never was good at waiting, and the anxiety was causing butterflies to flutter around in my stomach—a very unpleasant sensation, mind you.

"Cicero, where _are_ you?"I wondered aloud, straining to see details of the farm. But I could make out nothing.

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

Another half an hour had passed. Then another and another.

It had been nearly two hours since Cicero had set out to the farm, and by now the butterflies in my stomach had turned into vicious bees, zipping through my intestines at super speed, as if seeing which one could succeed in making me puke or scream from fear first.

As I paced around the cart, the temptation to run to the farm almost overwhelmed me every time I looked in its direction, but I knew what could happen if I left the Night Mother defenseless, something I could never do, now that I knew of her importance. She was the Bride of Sithis, creator of the universe and the apotheosis of Nothing and everything at once.

Every time I took a step in the direction of the farm, I would hear the voice of the Night Mother, whispering a sleepy, rasping lullaby of longing and darkness in the back of my mind, and feel a cold, twisted hand resting lightly on my shoulder, holding me back, though every time I looked, there would be nothing but air.

_Nothing but Nothing..._ I thought with a shiver.

I continued pacing like that, repeating the cycle of step, listen, hesitation, and back to pacing; step, listen, hesitation, and back to pacing...step...listen, feel the weight of an ethereal hand on my shoulder, hesitate, and turn away.

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

By the third hour, my mind was torturing me with images of Cicero, his body ripped apart and bloody, like I imagine that bandit woman had done to poor, kind and strong Hadvar, my first friend upon entering Skyrim.

I imagined the farmers, dressed in black with skulls for faces, chasing the mad keeper down with bloody pitchforks, screaming slander and abuse at the weeping man as he tried to get back to his Mother and his Listener, to warn them of the danger...

I saw myself running to the farm, bursting into the main building only to see the walls splattered with blood, while Cicero lay on the ground, mangled and bloody while shadow creatures danced around him— _in the heat of the fire that quickly burned it's way through the building, scorching everything in it's path as the restaurant exploded in a bright burst of heat and searing pain, throwing me back, into the air, watching as my loved ones burned in the unforgiving flames—_

By the time the horrid memories of watching my family burn after my older self blew up the Nasty Burger had been swallowed by the Darkness, still locked in its imaginary cage in the back of my mind, I was crouched next to the Night Mother's coffin, tears sliding down my face, ears laid back in misery and terror as I willed Cicero to leave the farm safely, listening to the Night Mother croon a soft melody in my head as a chill breeze swept though from the south as the sun set, casting darkness over the land, and a shadow over my heart.

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

It was only a few minutes later that I finally saw a figure trudge slowly out of the farm, heading in our direction, and when he was within eyesight, I saw that his shoulder's were slumped and head bowed, his Jester's hat hiding his face from my view in the darkness of the dusk.

Cicero.

My heart jumped into my throat and I leapt from my perch beside the Night Mother, hitting the ground running, a flat out sprint to the cowed figure of my Keeper, who glanced up, startled to see me rushing toward him at break-neck speed. His golden eyes widened for an instant before I was upon him, and this time it was I that tackled him to the ground in a hug in an uncharacteristic show of relief and joy.

_"You're alive!"_ I shouted in joy as we collided, and with a small squawk the very confused Keeper fell to the ground under my dead weight, from where he stared up at me, one red eyebrow raised in bafflement.

"Of course I'm alive... what else would I be?" He questioned innocently, brow furrowed, and I laughed out loud in relief, before quickly retorting with my usual wit and charm,

"A horker's husband!"

Cicero stared up at me for a few seconds before it seemed to click in his brain, and he immediately burst into loud, insane giggles, while I finally rolled off of him so that he could breathe enough to not pass out from laughter.

"_He he he he_! And I said to the man, '_That's not a horker! That's my wife!'_" He cackled, rolling around on the cold ground as I joined in with his laughter, too relieved at the fact that he was alive to wonder at my own hysterics.

After a few minutes of just lying on the ground, staring up at the points of light in the sky that apparently had been created when the gods fled this mortal plane, a few giggles escaping here and there, Cicero had finally calmed down enough that he was able to lean on one elbow, to look over in my direction.

"Listener...may humble Cicero ask a question?" He asked slowly, gold eyes staring deep into my red ones.

I nodded slowly, flicking my softly glowing white hair out of my eyes with a hand as I replied, "Sure, go ahead."

"Why were you so concerned for poor Cicero? You have only known me for a few hours, and yet, you seemed so afraid for me when I returned..._wait!_ Did someone threaten you? Did someone try to harm you, Listener, or desecrate our Mother?!" He demanded, eyes flashing, making a move to get up but I quickly put his fears to rest, wishing that I could so easily do the same for my own.

"No! I never even saw anyone walk by, we're fine, Cicero. Nothing ever happened, it's just I..." I trailed off, wondering if I should reveal this, one of my darkest secrets since coming here.

"Yes, Listener? You can tell me anything, and humble Cicero will protect your secrets with my very last breath!" He vowed, eyes open and honest as he watched me hesitate, nervousness plain on my face.

I sighed, closing my eyes as the memories replayed themselves in my mind again. "D-do you remember those bandits I killed? Th-The ones in the clearing?"

There was a second of silence, and then I heard the bells on his jester had ringing softly. "Yes, I remember. They were the ones I wanted you to find the killer of for the quest you asked for." He replied, and I gave a small grin as I realized he must have nodded first, and then realized my eyes were closed—but the grin quickly faded.

"Well...when I first came to Skyrim, I was in Helgen when a dragon attacked."

I heard the bells ring again, and the rustle of cloth as Cicero let out a small, awed gasp, "A dragon? The mighty Listener escaped a _dragon_?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'll have to tell you about it in detail sometime...the reason I survived was because of a soldier; a man named Hadvar. He stopped the Imperial Captain from—from executing me, because they found me with the Stormcloaks...and when the dragon attacked, he kept me safe; he gave me food, weapons, armour, and taught me some spells and archery to defend myself with..."

I heaved another sad sigh, pushing the memories away as best I could.

"When we left Helgen, I got distracted. I got lost...I lost_ him_. So I walked into the woods to look for him, and I managed to, like an idiot, step on a branch very loudly. When I looked up, I was surrounded by those bandits. I called out for help, but no one came. This one woman, the leader, told me how she had found Hadvar earlier, and that she had killed him, stabbing him and slicing away at him, and then she sliced open my arm—"

"WHAT!?" Cicero shouted, rage boiling in his golden eyes, catching the arm I had been gesturing with and pulled it towards him, brushing back the sleeve of the tunic I had been wearing, exposing my forearm where the cut on my arm had been sealed closed, thanks to a healing spell, but it was still tender to the touch and needed to fully heal on the inside.

I gave a soft hiss in pain when he pressed a little too hard on the wound, causing him to immediately draw back with fervent apologies, which I waved off with my other hand.

"It's no big deal; I've had worse, and a healing spell closed it up pretty good, I just have to make sure I don't bump it or anything too hard, or it would probably open up again..." I said flippantly, and beside me Cicero still looked put out—actually, that was too light a word. He looked furious.

"Blasphemous bandits, daring to hurt the Listener..." I heard him mutter under his breath.

"Really, though Cicero, it's okay. I'm fine now...and I think I got more than enough revenge for myself and Hadvar; when I got over the pain, I finally comprehended what the woman had said, and I remember thinking that it couldn't be true...but it was. And then, the Darkness took over..."

I shuddered, the cold darkness of my memories perfectly accentuating the chill night.

"The next thing I knew, I had woken up in the clearing again—except it was dark, and cold, and I was lying in a puddle of blood and mud. I was absolutely covered in it, and when I looked around, and saw what I had done, I couldn't handle it. I freaked; I had just killed—no, _destroyed_ five people, their bodies mangled and covered in frost-bitten flesh, their eyes empty as they stared out at me..."

Finally, I felt the tears that had been welling up in my eyes overflow, cascading down my cheeks, and I turned away from my Keeper, not wanting him to see my shame.

"W-when you didn't come back after a couple of hours, I started panicking—I though that the people at the farm had hurt you, killed you, or set the place on fire, and I would only get there in time to watch it burn everything away...like what happened to my family." I whispered brokenly, breaking down into sobs and I heard Cicero let out an exclamation of surprise, before strong arms suddenly gripped my shoulders in a vice like grip, turning me to face my Keeper.

"Tears and fears are nothing to be ashamed of, Danel!" I looked at Cicero in shock as he called me by my new name for the first time since finding out I was the Night Mother's Listener.

"They may make you seem weak, but they can be used to strengthen yourself! Take them, and cast them away! Throw them into the darkness you so fear and bask in the black light of your powerful spirit! Take the darkness inside you and embrace it! Anger! Vengeance! Hate! These are a part of you, part of your true self, and if you reject them, you reject yourself!" Cicero cried, his golden eyes staring into my own red ones, as if daring me to challenge him and his wisdom.

I swallowed and nodded reluctantly; if I wanted to leave this world and get back to my own, I knew I would need to do things I would not normally do. And if that meant giving in to the 'Corrupting inexpressible action' aspect of Sithis, then I would.

If it meant I had to kill people, to send their souls to the Void, then I would.

It was the only way I could get home.

And…it was just a game after all—no worse than Call of Duty that I played with Tucker sometimes…

Right?

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

"Tucker! Where are you?!" Sam shouted as she and I burst into his house; luckily, his parents had already left for work, or we would have had some _serious_ explaining to do.

"Sam! Up here!" Tucker's panicked voice sounded from upstairs, and as one, Sam and I glanced at each other, (me once again noticing Sam's glowing purple eyes, but being in too much of a panic to say anything for now), before we both rushed up the stairs to Tucker's room.

Panting slightly from all of unplanned the running, I glanced around in shock at Tucker's normally immaculate room. It was a mess. Stray cords were lying around haphazardly, intertwining and tangling together on the floor; all of his various computer's monitors were on, their light filling the room with a variety of colors as they displayed graphs, charts, and a bunch of other technical maps.

Tucker himself was in an unusual disarray, appearance wise. His red beret was askew, his glasses crooked, with one of the lenses cracked; he wore what appeared to be the same clothes he wore yesterday, if it's wrinkled and stained appearance was anything to go by; one of the sleeves had taken on very familiar looking pattern of damage—something extremely cold had hit his arm, and at high speed, and there was only thing beside my dad's Fenton Ice-cube Launcher that could do that kind of damage to a shirt.

Ectoplasm; ectoplasm as in the energy kind, or ectoplasm as in ghost _blood_.

Something I had seen staining my little brother's clothes far too often in his fight to protect the town.

"Tucker?" I asked, stumbling at the thought that Danny could have been seriously hurt by a ghost. Was that where the ectoplasmic burn on Tucker's arm had come from? Was my brother okay? Wouldn't Tucker have told someone if he had—_No, you can't think like that Jazz, Danny's always alright, something like a little ghost wouldn't stop him from coming home if a friend was in danger...right?_

"There you guys are! I was calling all night! Where were you!?" Tucker shouted in their direction, hands too busy typing feverishly on his PDA, which was connected to a rather odd looking gaming console that sat next to his TV. "Come on, come on...NO! DANG IT!" He roared in frustration as, on screen, part of the screen bleeped out, replaced by darkness. What remained of the image appeared to be a grainy picture of a blurry wagon, with someone sitting across from the view point of the camera.

"Tucker! What's going on, where's Danny?!" Sam demanded, her amethyst eyes blazing quite literally as she marched up to her dark skinned male friend.

"Hold on, I think I got it—no! Will you stop doing that already?!" Tucker screamed at the TV as yet another piece of the picture fizzled out of existence, the rest of it becoming more blurred and pixilated by the second. "Last night, Danny and I were out buying Doom IV, and when we left the store, Technus attacked me, and I went flying into a tree. Danny managed to beat him, but not before Technus destroyed all the stuff we bought with that gift card, you know the one the park manager gave us?"

Both Sam and I nodded, but I was still confused. "But what does this have to do with anything? Did Technus come back?" I questioned, trying to figure out where my little brother was. And why was Tucker trying to fix his TV? He should be helping us find my brother!

"Hold on, I'm getting to that! So me and Danny, once he woke me up, realized that one of the bags hadn't been destroyed, so we brought it here and, this is where it gets weird." Tucker said, "When we started unloading the bag, we realized that it wasn't our stuff; it was all in the boxes we had gotten, but it was different—like what's on the TV, it's a game called Skyrim, but it was in the case for Doom IV, and that console? I think it's something Technus made!" He said, gesturing towards the high tech black console, which had the PlayStation logo on it for some reason, and had glowing green lines etched into the sides.

"TUCKER!" Sam shouted impatiently, "Get to the point already! Where. Is. Danny!?"

Tucker seemed to notice her for the first time, his hands momentarily faltering in their button pressing as he focused on her face. "Uh, Sam? Why are your eyes glowing purple?" He questioned cautiously, as if fearing she would punch him for foolish questions.

"What? What are you talking about?" Sam demanded, waving a hand in front of her face as if it would clear some haze away, "My eyes aren't glowing!"

"Actually, Sam, they _are_. I noticed it last night when you used that psychic connection with Danny, before you collapsed." I interjected, "You don't know how hard it was to carry you home while making people think we were rehearsing a play where I rescued you from a mad axe man." I said, remembering with a shudder my pathetic excuse for carrying an unconscious goth girl all the way to my house; thank god Mom and Dad had gone out for the night, hunting ghosts.

"What? Why didn't you tell me!" Sam questioned, rushing over to the mirror in the corner of the room, where she stared at her reflection in confusion, while Tucker just looked at both of us, aghast.

"What are you talking about? What psychic connection?" He questioned, quickly resuming his frantic typing and button pushing on his PDA as the image on the screen became more and more blurry, the corners of the screen threatened to fade in and out of focus entirely.

"Yesterday, when Danny saved me on the rock climbing wall, and I—I thought he'd died or something from the fall, I heard his voice in my mind right before he released his ghost powers and woke up!" Sam exclaimed, still staring at her reflection, poking and prodding at the skin around her eyes experimentally, as if expecting her finger to go through her skin, "And when me and Jazz were walking home, I was trying to convince her than I wasn't hallucinating or something from hitting my head when we fell, so I remembered what it felt like when I heard his voice, and suddenly I was like, in my mind!

"I could see and feel this cold, green entity, everything else was just...darkness. Nothingness; it was creepy, but the entity—I think it was Danny's soul, or something— was comforting, as if it were there to protect me; when I reached out to it, I saw that my own hands were purple and see-through, like Danny's soul, but his form looked more like a flame, or ectoplasm...and when my hand touched the energy, I could see all of Danny's memories, starting with when he first got his ghost powers..."

Sam broke off with a shudder, grimacing. "It was horrible—the pain it—it was just agonizing...I'd never felt anything like it before, and to think that he's felt it every time he and his ghost half got split in the catcher? I can't even imagine it..." She trailed off, with a small sob, while I stared at her in shock. Danny had never talked about what it felt like, getting his powers; he shouldn't have to bottle all of that pain up inside...

"After that, is was just a jumbled mess of memories of fighting ghosts, but one stood out more than the others...do you remember Dan?" Sam questioned, and Tucker looked up again for a second from his PDA.

"Yeah, his older self, right? What about him?" He questioned, while I looked at them both, wondering what was up. I remembered knowing that Danny was going to cheat on the CAT's, but not knowing the exact details of how he had gotten the answers and _why_ he had wanted to cheat in the first place.

"Danny...He didn't tell us everything about his fight with him. I just thought that he had followed us home after that building almost fell on us; but he didn't. He was trapped there, in the future, for who knows how long! He had to go to Vlad, so he could rip the time medallion out of his ghost core, just like the past Vlad had ripped out his ghost half, after we had all died in the explosion..." Here, Sam faltered, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt, but can you hold this for me Jazz?" Tucker suddenly asked, and I jumped slightly, having forgotten he was there, too absorbed in Sam's description of one of Danny's most dangerous fights.

"Uh, sure. Where do you want it?" I asked, taking the small USB plug cable from his hand. and he pointed towards one of the many computers strewn across the floor.

"Plug it into the left side port, the third one, and when the menu pops up, type in 'O 6 5, auto save protocol 5.6" and select 'reroute to alternate power source' please." He said, straightening his beret idly.

Walking over to the indicated computer, I plugged the little cord into the USB port, quickly typing in the code and clicking on the drop down menu to click on the instructed option.

"So, what is this for, then?" I asked curiously, wondering what all of this mess had to do with my brother, and why he was no where to be found.

"I'm trying to save all of the information on the game onto something else; my power shorted out last night right after he got sucked into the game, and it's corrupted the data! I'm trying to piece it back together, but it keeps fragmenting before I can restore it!" Tucker said, banging his fist on to the floor in frustration as more of the screen faded into oblivion.

"WHAT!?" Both Sam and I shrieked, at the same time, staring at Tucker, horrified.

"He got sucked into a game you know nothing about? A game that came from _a GHOST?!" _Sam shouted, looking enraged. "And you didn't tell ME!?"

"Well, Hey!" Tucker said defensively, sending a glare in Sam's direction, " I _tried_ to call you! I was calling you _all night!_ Didn't you have your ringer on?" The young, dark skinned boy demanded, and Sam looked away, head bowed in shame.

"So wait, how long has he been in there? Has this happened before? Does he know how to get out?" I quickly questioned, brow furrowed in concern as I turned to face the TV screen.

On screen, about half of the picture had faded into darkness, while the rest had acquired a shattered look, like a broken mirror, and it was so blurred and pixilated, that it was no longer possible to make out what the picture consisted of.

"He's been in there since last night; yes, it has happened before, but that's because he went into Doom on purpose on the computer...and I am pretty sure he knows how to get out, but I don't think he'll be able to get out until I fix all of this data, " Tucker said, then rubbed the back of his neck uneasily in a manner that was very similar to my brother's nervous habit, "...also, I kinda clicked on some weird settings when we were setting the console up, so he might be stuck there until he beats the game..."

Sam face palmed, and I was sorely tempted to join her in formally introducing my hand to my face as well.

"Well, can't we use my parent's Ghost Catcher to get him out?" I asked, remembering the giant, ectoplasmic dream catcher we had at home, stored in the basement lab, "Doesn't it remove spectral entities from normal stuff?"

Tucker shook his head. "From what I've seen of the data this thing is transmitting, and the fact that I have never seen a PlayStation 3, I've gotta say that this thing was either made entirely by ghosts, and using the Ghost Catcher on it would take all of the energy out of it, or..." He paused, as if a thought had just occurred to him.

His brow furrowed, looking thoughtful and concerned.

"Or?" Sam questioned, glowing eyes narrowed.

"...Or it's from the future."

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry if this chappy was a bit boring or ooc (i can't even tell anymore), but hey, it's an update! :D**

**The poll results were as follows:**

**Option one: **(nothing at all but Danny's pov_) _**1 vote**

**Option Two:**_ (danny in Nahlgraafkiin, amity park in separate story)****_**4 votes**

**Option three **_(Both povs in Nahlgraafkiin):_** 5 votes**

**Votes for either Two or Three: 2**

**Thank you all, for Voting! I hope you enjoy the results!**

**Also, Phantom Resurrection fans, I will be writing the newest chapter sometime tonight, with a _possible_ update tomorrow, if I type so fast my keyboard bursts into flames...**


	10. Chapter 8

**קڔڊڄڱگڮججطختبضسضקڔڊڄڱگڮ קڔڊڄڱگڮ****Chapter Eightקڔڊڄڱگڮججطختبضسضקڔڊڄڱگڮ קڔڊڄڱگڮ**

**Maddie Fenton:**

**Thursday, August 7****h****.**

It had been four days since I had last seen Danny at the amusement park, and I was starting to get really worried about him.

The repairs to the school had been slowed down substantially, due to more ghost attacks on the school; ghosts, which unfortunately Jack and I had been too busy to catch, so school for the students had been canceled until Wednesday of next week.

In all of that time, Sam, Tucker, and even Jazz had been making excuses, saying things like _"Danny fell asleep in my home theater during a marathon of Dead Teacher, and I didn't want to wake him up..." _Sam had explained on the first night, even though I was _sure_ he had written a note on the fridge that he had gone to spend the night at Tucker's house; a note I had found, crumpled on Jazz's bedroom floor when I went in to vacuum her room, after Jack had finished testing the new Fenton Dust Destroyer (it had exploded, hence the need to vacuum).

_"Sorry, Mrs. Fenton, me and Danny were playing our new video games, and we lost track of time. Is it ok if he stays the night? Great! I'll make sure to tell my mom, you don't have to call them or anything!"_ Had been Tucker's excuse the next night, not even letting me get a word in edgewise.

"Oh, hey mom. Sorry I'm late, me and Danny were at the library studying for a test Mr. Lancer says is going to be worth half his grade! Danny said not to wait up; he was going to get home late tonight, and get back up early tomorrow so he can study more." Jazz had said, on the third night.

I had waited in the living room, camouflaged in the new Fenton Chameleon Suit, until well past six in the morning, drinking some of Jack's 'Fenton Energy Drinks,' and still no sign of Danny.

I had monitored the security camera's in Danny's room, to see Jazz surreptitiously creep in and rumple the blankets a bit before sneaking back into her room where she pretended to go back to sleep.

Later, after taking a cold shower to wake myself up more (the energy drinks were wearing off rather fast) and donning a new teal HAZMAT suit, I had casually asked Jazz at the table when Danny had left to go to the library, and she'd quickly replied that he'd gotten up really early and probably ate breakfast at the Nasty Burger.

I had acted as calmly as possible, forcing myself to behave as if nothing was wrong, while inside, my inner voices were screaming frantic questions.

_Why would Jazz lie about where her brother is?_

_Did I do something to Danny, and now he's avoiding me?_

_Did I __not__ do something, something important? Something he needed me to do?_

_Where is my baby boy? Why doesn't he come home?_

_Is he in trouble?_

_Is he in danger?_

_Is he doing drugs, or part of a gang, like Pamela and Jeremy Manson always claim?_

_WHERE IS MY SON!?_

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

It was on the fourth night that my patience snapped, and I called Tucker's parents, knowing that's where the kids were, asking them to bring the children over, as Danny had 'finally come home from the library and wanted to talk to them, but he had gotten hurt on the way back and come down with a nasty fever and was too sick to leave the house.'

Fifteen minutes later, all three teens had burst into the house, wildly asking where Danny was, if he was ok, what had happened.

It was all I needed to confirm my suspicions.

And I was absolutely _certain_ that Sam's eyes were glowing.

I called Jack into the room, told the kids to take a seat and waited for my husband to appear, all the while subtly fingering the miniature Fenton Thermos hidden in my belt, ready at a moment's notice to attack whatever ghost was possessing Sam. Jack had spent the last couple of days in the lab, trying to build some anti-gravity shoes, and even though I had told him they would never work, he had been too worried about the Rock-Climbing-Wall Incident happening again to be dissuaded.

"What's up, Sweet Cheeks? I just got the Fenton Fliers to start working!" Jack said with a proud grin, leaping into the room with surprising grace, his bright orange jumpsuit stained with ectoplasm and oil as he held aloft a pair of black knee high boots, the bottoms of which glowed a light blue as they were held in Jack's tight grasp. "See? I told you I could make them!"

"That's nice dear, but right now I need you to focus." I told him gently, and he immediately nodded, and I could tell he was trying his best to remain serious, though every few seconds his mouth would twitch into a wide grin.

"Now," I said, turning to face the kids who were all seated nervously on the edge of their seats, glancing to the stairs over and over again. I could see that Tucker was texting, and from his frustrated look, I could guess that he was trying to communicate with Danny, but with no such luck. "I want you all to tell me the truth. No more excuses, no more lies, and _no more_ keeping things from me. Where. Is. Danny?"

Tucker looked at me in confusion, while fear showed on Sam and my daughter's faces, shock mixed in as they realized they had been caught in their lies. "What do you mean, Mrs. Fenton? Didn't you say Danny got hurt on the way home from the library? Isn't he here?" Tucker questioned nervously, glancing again at the stairs, as if willing Danny to come walking down any moment.

"No." I said simply, while Jack glanced at me in confusion, "He's not. He hasn't been home in days. I stayed up last night, all night long and waited for him to come home. He never did. And when I checked the security cameras..." Here, Jazz paled and ducked her head, avoiding eye contact. "I saw you, Jazz, going into his room and making it look like he slept in his bed, and then you _lied_ to me, _again_, and told me that he had gotten up early to study for a test!" The last part came out louder than I expected as my worry and anger and fear built up within me.

"I'm going to ask you this once, and so help me, if you don't tell me the truth, I'm going to be calling your parents, Sam, Tucker, and the police will get involved, and I doubt you want the police to go through your computer's, Tucker, and find all those downloaded songs and movies you have; Now tell me: Where. Is. My. Son?" I said in my most quiet, intimidating voice. The voice I only reserved for the groundings of misbehaving children and the most dangerous of ghosts.

Tucker paled at the threat and glanced over at Sam and Jazz, and after a pause, they all leaned together, and proceeded to have had a heated discussion, of which I only caught small snatches of.

_"Should we tell them?"_

_"I think we have to, it's been too long since he went in, if he could get out, he would have already used his—"_

_"But Danny doesn't want them to know! What if they—"_

_"He could be in serious danger, Tucker! None of us have heard of that game, and that thing was made by a—"_

_…_

_"—on, Tucker, they're my parents! I don't think they'd—"_

_"—about when they thought you were a ghost? They—"_

_"I talked to Mom, and she apologized over and over; after I found out, I asked what she would do if—"_

_"But still! That doesn't mean they won't freak—"_

After a few more words, which were drowned out by Jack's confused voice asking me questions I couldn't answer at the moment, all three nodded and Jazz stood up, turning to face me, her face utterly serious.

"Mom? Dad? There's something you need to know about Danny..."

**AN: ****CLIIFFYYYY! :D**

**Ok, seriously guys, I know you're all eager to get to the next chapter, but drop a review every once in a while, please? AT LEAST 40 people have read this chapter as of today (it was uploaded 2/18/13) and only ONE person has bothered to review! SO, a big shoutout to jeanette9a, who has reviewed this humble fic numerous times, and I absolutely love them! (especially the song suggestion-i'm now in love with it, btw, and it's going to be featured in a later chapter, a bit more subtly than "Monster" by Skillett) **

**Also, on another note, I _still_ havn't finished the latest chappy of _Phantom__ Resurrection_ But, i HAVE finished the first chapter of one of my muse-distractions-the first chapter of my newest DP fic, "Your Son" which is my very lengthy and very in-depth-so-small-you-need-a-microscope-to-read-it-between-the-lines explanations for the episode "Masters of All Time" =P**

**"Your Son" is the story of the alternate universe's Vlad and Maddie, and the explanation behind Vlad's hatred of all things ghostly (he had no reason whatsoever to hate Jack in that, and how do we know he lied about Jack wanting revenge? Jack had PLASMIUS as his ghost half, so obviously Plasmius has some negative effects on whoever his human is, by making them more obsessive), why they didn't have any children, and most importantly, the one 30 second scene that made my mind explode with the possibilities and the reason behind the title...**

**Why did Maddie believe Danny, when he said "I'm your son!"? Notice, she only called him a liar when he said that JACK was his father-so why would she believe him? Why would she think for one second that a teenaged GHOST could possibly be her son?**

**You'll have to find out tomorrow, when I post the first Chapter! (I will also attempt to start on the second chapter of "Ghost of a Dream" tomorrow, which will hopefully clear up some of the confusion and oddities of the first [trust me, those odd words and randomness...they were on purpose!]) annnnd,,, i might even get to finish the first chapter of my OTHER DP fic, "A Different Kind of Portal" which is a very angsty, dark, (possibly romantic) theory on what could have happened if the 'ghost' portal opened up into a different undead dimension...one filled with zombies- And guess who the first victim is?**


	11. Chapter 9

**קڔڊڄڱگڮججطختبضسضקڔڊڄڱگڮ קڔڊڄڱگڮ****Chapter Nineקڔڊڄڱگڮججطختبضسضקڔڊڄڱگڮ קڔڊڄڱگڮ**

**Maddie Fenton:**

**Thursday, August 7****h****.**

"Mom? Dad? There's something you need to know about Danny...something big, something that will seem impossible...something that's irreversible, and if you ever even _think_ of trying to change him, of calling him evil, or, or try to _destroy_ him, or dissect him or something, I will take both me and Danny out of Amity and we'll go to Vlad's, and you will _never_ see _either of us_ again._ Got it_?" Jazz said, sending a small glare in our direction, though I could see the fear and uncertainty masked behind her anger.

Shocked at the accusation that I would ever think that my own son was evil, or do such horrific things to my baby boy, I nodded, staring at my daughter in fear. What was she going to tell us? What was so horrible, that she thought I would hate Danny for it? Something so horrifying she would be willing to go to Vlad's to get away from _us?_

"I promise you, that no matter what you tell me, I will _never_ abandon or hate you and your brother; I would _never_ do anything to hurt either of you!" I swore, and beside me, Jack nodded vigorously.

"Come on, Jazzerincess, you can tell us anything! We're your _parents_!" My rotund husband exclaimed, expression nothing but honest concern for his family.

Jazz nodded her head and took a deep breath, before slowly releasing it in a gust.

"Do you remember when you and Dad first made the ghost portal? And how it didn't work?" She asked slowly, her hands clenched at her sides, in white-knuckled nervousness. Both Jack and I nodded, not wanting to interrupt whatever she was going to say. "Then you remember how Danny managed to fix it, but got shocked in the process? We had to drive him to the hospital."

Jack nodded again, and I made a small, nervous gesture with my hand for her to go on, when she looked uncertain. Suddenly, Sam stood up and put her hand on Jazz's shoulder, before the young Goth girl spoke.

"Well, when Danny got shocked, some of the ectoplasm in the portal was combined with the electricity, and when that electricity passed through him...it, it changed him. Down to the molecular level—when he came out of the portal, he—he was a ghost." Sam said, cringing slightly at the gasp of terror that escaped me.

_Danny? My baby boy? Dead? NO! It couldn't be true, he was alive! I had felt the warmth of his skin, the beat of his heart, as Jack drove all of us to the hospital! I had felt them every time I hugged him! How could he be a ghost!?_

"H—how could he have been a ghost? Danny's alive!" I choked out, confusion and fear swirling in my mind. "_Oh my god…"_

"Uh, maybe I should have phrased that better;" Sam said quickly, "What I meant was, when he came out of the portal, he had the form of a ghost; his hair had turned white, his eyes were green, and the white and black HAZMAT suit he'd worn going in had its colored reversed to black and white..."

That description sounded terribly familiar..._oh god, no!_

"When that portal shocked him, Danny's DNA was combined with ectoplasm, and he became half ghost. He's one of only three in existence." Sam said, and I felt tears gathering in my eyes as the dreaded question burned through my mind.

"He—he's Phantom, isn't he?" I choked out, and beside me Jack gasped.

Sam nodded.

From beside me, Jack's newest invention flew out of his suddenly slack grip, the Fenton Fliers zipping around the room before crashing into a wall, where they fell into a heap, sparking halfheartedly.

All around me, the world came crashing down around my ears as Sam, Tucker, and Jazz explained how Danny –_my baby boy, a hero— _Had been fighting ghosts ever since he got control of his powers, how he had been defending the town during the night, and that was why he was always tired and getting bad grades; how he always skipped out of class to stop ghosts from attacking the rest of the school, and got bullied at school by the people he defended every day.

About how he was afraid Jack and I would never accept him for who he was, his fear that we would hate him, call him a freak, not believe that he had ever been human...

About how Jazz had found out about his powers when the school's psychiatrist had turned out to be a ghost who fed on negative emotions, and had almost killed her during the spirit day pep rally, and how Danny had saved her.

About how, during the CATs, Danny had been manipulated by an all-powerful, time-controlling Spirit into getting the test answers, which he would have used to cheat, which had happened in an alternate time line. If Danny had cheated on the test, then he would have been caught by Mr. Lancer, who would have called Jack and I to the Nasty Burger, which would have exploded when all of us were there, killing us instantly but leaving Danny behind with horrible burns and survivor's guilt.

About how, in the alternate time line, Danny had gone to live with Vlad, who knew about his ghost half, and in an attempt to help Danny, had ripped his ghost half from him in an effort to remove all of his negative emotions, at my poor Danny's anguished request.

About how Danny's ghost half had gone mad with grief, combining with the Wisconsin Ghost (Here, Tucker once again had his foot stomped on when he started to say something about the Vlad and the ghost Phantom had combined with, before Sam quickly interjected), creating an entirely new entity which then went about, destroying both the ghost and human worlds in his sorrow-filled rage against what both worlds had done to him.

About how Sam had discovered that she and Danny had a psychic connection, through his ghost half, which was why her eyes were glowing subtly in the dim lighting; She explained that she had discovered it when Danny had saved her by throwing himself off the rock climbing wall, and she had heard his voice in her head.

About how, on the way home from buying some video games with a card the Amity Adventures Park manager had given him (As a bribe, Maddie expected, so they wouldn't sue him) a ghost named Technus had attacked Tucker and destroyed their newly bought video games and knocked Tucker out until Danny woke him up later, having discovered that one of the bags hadn't been destroyed.

About how the game inside the case had been different than its label.

About how Tucker's TV had turned into a portal when Tucker started to play, and would have sucked him in if Danny hadn't saved him by pushing him out of the way, only to be grabbed by the portal himself.

About how the portal had caused Tucker's electricity to go out, corrupting the data on the ghostly gaming-console, and trapping Danny in the game.

About how, every time Tucker tried to reconstruct the data, it would decay even faster.

About how there was barely more than a quarter of the screen still visible on his TV.

About how the psychic connection Sam and Danny shared was one way so far; Sam could only see and hear Danny's memories, not communicate with him in the present, and how his memories were all blurred, and distorted, and how, whenever she tried to talk to him, all she would be able to see was his soul, or what she thought was his soul, but it had changed.

Where it had once been a cold but 'comforting green', there was now a mass of green, grey, red, blue and gold light, the blue parts of it freezing, bone-chillingly cold, the red and grey parts were warm, and the gold light was blazing hot, and had a certain feel to it, as if it were ancient and undying.

All around his soul, there were words; words that Sam could never remember exactly, but she said they sounded as if they were from some ancient, powerful language, so old they seemed able to control reality itself; the words sounding from deep within his soul, and echoing in her mind in a chant that haunted her dreams, the headache caused by the feedback from the link pulsing in time with the chant—

"Wait a minute! Sam!" Tucker suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet from where had had fallen back onto the couch a couple of minutes ago, making us all jump at his sudden, unexpected interruption, "Sam, those words, that chant you hear, did it sound like, umm, 'Dovakeen, dovakeen, something something lost Vareen'?" Tucker inquired, and Sam nodded, looking shocked.

"H-how did you know? I could never hear what they were saying clearly!" Sam exclaimed, while I just stared at them all, still too dazed from the fact that my son was a half-ghost super hero who I had been hunting for the past couple of months, and was currently trapped in an unknown video game until an unknown time—also known as _indefinitely; no idea when he will get back—if he gets back; no way of contacting him, no way of telling him 'I'm sorry' until we find a way to get him out of there..._

"Before Danny got pulled into the game, and we had just finished setting it up, we went to the start menu and it started playing music that had a bunch of people chanting, and it sounded just like what you described—oh! Wait! I think I recorded it on my phone, before we started! I can play it so you guys can all hear it!" Tucker said, quickly flipping open his phone and scrolling through different files, before he let out a joyous exclamation.

Jumping to my feet, I rushed to my son's friend's side and leaned in closer as he pressed play, finally alert enough to be able to take in details as ancient chanting voices filled the room. We all listened with bated breath to the voices, uninterrupted, as we all concentrated, trying to find some kind of hidden meaning in the words:

_Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin,_  
_Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!_  
_Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan,_  
_Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!_

_Huzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod,_  
_Ahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein!_  
_Wo lost fron wah ney dov, ahrk fin reyliik do jul,_  
_Voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein_

_Ahrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod,_  
_Rul lot Taazokaan motaad voth kein!_  
_Sahrot Thu'um, med aan tuz, vey zeim hokoron pah,_  
_Ol fin Dovahkiin komeyt ok rein!_

_Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin,_  
_Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!_  
_Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan,_  
_Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!_

_Ahrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah,_  
_Tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein!_  
_Alduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau,_  
_Voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein!_

_Nuz aan sul, fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok,_  
_Fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz!_  
_Paaz Keizaal fen kos stin nol bein Alduin jot,_  
_Dovahkiin kos fin saviik do muz!_

_Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin,_  
_Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!_  
_Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan_  
_Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!_

For a long time after the music had finally stopped, there was silence. No one knew what to say.

"Well, I got nothing...but I bet I can make something that will translate it!" Jack said suddenly, completely forgetting about the flying shoes that still lay in the corner, his sudden shout making us all jump. I quickly nodded, and asked Tucker if he would be able to make a copy of the song so Jack and I could get to work on translating it. Tucker nodded and quickly dug a USB flash drive out of his pocket and handed it to me.

"That has copies of all the data I've been able to save on it, so you can look at whatever you need to." He told me, and I nodded, thankful that I had put my hood up earlier, so that my son's best friend wouldn't be able to see the tears in my eyes.

After that, Jack and I went down to the lab to discuss plans on making something that would stop the rest of the data from being corrupted, along with trying to find a way to restore the data, and to brainstorm ideas for something to translate the song from the game.

The second I heard the front door close upstairs, and silence reigned throughout the house for a solid minute, I ripped my hood back and slid down the wall unable to stop myself from sobbing any longer.

Jack was immediately at my side, comforting me, while I cried over my little boy, trapped in another world, my little boy who feared his parents, who came home beaten and bloody every night without my noticing, the boy who was grounded for getting bad grades, when he was too distracted spending all of his time saving the town from the ghosts who wished to lay claim to it, to do homework or study.

For months, I had hunted my own child. I had aimed deadly weapons at him, I had even _shot_ at him, screamed insults and profanity at him, cursing his very existence, and he _still_ came home every night with a smile and a hug goodnight for his mother.

_Some mother I turned out to be..._I thought bitterly.

"How could we not have noticed?" I whispered to Jack, from where I was cradled gently in his large arms, both of us leaning against the wall of the lab, watching the blinking lights of the portal wink in and out as they measured the ectoplasmic levels in the ghost zone, "How could we not have recognized our own son?"

"Aw, come on Madds, it's not that bad. He didn't want to be recognized! That's part of what being a super hero means, remember? They have to have secret identities!" Jack said, and I sighed unhappily.

"I know, I know, but still...I just wish he would have told us! Our own child shouldn't have to be afraid of us!" I sighed, wiping away the tears as they fell.

After a few more seconds of wallowing in my self-hate, I finally took a deep breath and stood up. No more wasting time.

It was time to bring my son home.

"Come on, Jack. Let's get our son back!" I said, placing one hand on my hip in a gesture of confidence; Jack immediately perked up, that spark back his eyes, the one he only got when faced with an impossible challenge that he had to invent his way around.

With a wide grin, he jumped to his feet and bounced over to the lab table, sweeping away all the unfinished prototype weapons strewn across it, clearing a large space. Grabbing a handful of the large pieces of paper we kept at the ready, he took up a sketch pencil and immediately began to draw up a design, while I leapt over to the whiteboard, and started working through various equations that were needed to open trans-dimensional portals, basing them off of the already established work that we had used to make the ghost portal.

After a few minutes of trying to figure out whether I should base the energy input needed to create a portal on the one we had created,(which was an artificial one, created via mechanics), or on the naturally occurring portals that popped up randomly, a thought occurred to me, and I slowly lowered the whiteboard marker.

"Jack?" I asked, turning around to see he was surrounded by scraps of paper—failed designs— and was currently scribbling away again with the sketch pencil, "Didn't Sam and Tucker say that, that..._Vlad_ knows about Danny's ghost powers?" The thought made me feel even worse; Danny, I knew, did _not_ like Vlad, and neither did I, and knowing that he had told our old college friend he was half ghost before he told us? That just _hurt_.

"Hey...you're right! We should call Vladdy to help us!" Jack said, grinning wildly at the thought of seeing his old college buddy again, "I bet he could make something in no time that would get Danny out of that ghost machine!"

I sighed; though I was loathed to admit it, I knew that Vlad was a genius when it came to ghosts, especially how their technology worked, (It wouldn't surprise me if he had his own portal to the Ghost Zone hidden in that mansion of his) and he absolutely adored Danny, and would be willing to do anything for me... so I really had no excuse to exclude him from this, especially if he already knew about Danny being half ghost...

"...Fine, fine, But _I_ will be the one to talk to him, okay? You can get a little too exuberant when he's around..." I said, and watched as Jack's thousand watt smile dimmed a bit, before his expression brightened again an instant later.

"Okay, okay, I'll let _you_ call him...but can I get a cookie first?" Jack said conspiratorially, and I sighed again under my breath at my husband's childish antics.

"_Yes,_ you can have a cookie. They're on top off the fridge—" Jack sped up the stairs— "_But_ _leave some for the kids!_" I shouted up after him, before following him up into the kitchen at a more sedate pace.

Grabbing my cell phone off of the counter where it lay among scraps of metal (I had newly upgraded it to shoot anti-ghost lasers from the small, hidden compartment near the top) I quickly walked upstairs and into Danny's empty room,( where the noise of Jack happily devouring half the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies was muted) staring at the NASA posters, the model spaceships he had built, and the glow-in-the-dark stars that were arranged into constellations on the ceiling—the ones I had bought him when he was five, when he had first told me he wanted to be an astronaut...

With yet another sigh, I sat down gingerly on the edge of his bed, still messy from Jazz's ruse, and flipped open my phone. Scrolling through the contacts, I selected the one labeled "Crazed Up Fruitloop", (which had been renamed so after Danny got a hold of my phone after that disastrous mother/son weekend trip, and told me in no uncertain terms that I was to make it ghost-hunting compatible so nothing like that nightmare ever happened again).

I had readily agreed; after all, who wanted to spend their weekend fighting off rabid ghost animals and being forced to flirt with a creepy old college friend? Well, aside from the latter, it _did_ sound pretty fun, but it certainly wasn't how I had wanted to spend _that_ weekend! That weekend I had specifically planned so Danny and I could bond, and he had spent most of that time as far away from me as possible, except for at the end—

And then it hit me, and I could have cried with relief.

He'd been so skittish around me that weekend, not because of something _I_ did, but because of the Specter Deflector! I'd had it activated the entire time, and then I had put it _on him—_though, oddly enough, while he looked nervous wearing it, he hadn't had any bad reactions to it like he had the night before...Maybe Vlad had seen that I had been wearing it and did something so it wouldn't hurt Danny?

Finally making up my mind, I clicked the call option under the tab, raised the phone to my ear, and listened to the ringing, chewing on my lip nervously as I waited.

Should I tell him out right that we know about Danny? Demand to know why he didn't tell me? Ask him to come over to talk? Tell him something has happened to Danny, and we need his help?

Before I could make up my mind by myself, it was made up for me as I heard Vlad's abnormally-cheery voice answer his phone.

"_Maddie!_ What a pleasant surprise! How are you? Bored of Jack's inane ramblings already?" He asked, his voice silky smooth and suave, yet still managing to come off only as oh,_ so_ creepy in Maddie's books.

"I'm sorry Vlad, but Jack and I are still _happily married,_ and I don't intend for that to change any time soon," I retorted, my voice coming out a bit more waspish than I intended, but it's not like Vlad could take a hint...

"Oh, Maddie, Maddie, Maddie; _of course_ I forgive you! After all, it's not _your_ fault that lumbering fool ruined my life..." He quickly replied, his voice still silky smooth, like a snake. "But of course, I have to wonder why you called me at such a late hour; I am a busy man and though I would happily make all the time in the world just to talk to you, I get the feeling that you didn't call just to chat. So! What is it you need my help with?" He asked cordially.

All of a sudden, my reason for calling Vlad came rushing back to me, and I let out a shaky breath, feeling my annoyance at his unrelenting flirting and insulting of my husband slip away.

"Actually, Vlad, I called you because I need your help. Something's happened to Danny... and..and I'm not sure we can get him back without you." I whispered into the phone.

There was a split second of silence on the other end of line before—"Of course! I'm heading out to my private jet now; I'll be there within the hour!" Vlad's determined voice proclaimed, and though I had trouble believing even _he_ had a plane that could fly from Wisconsin to Amity Park in less than an hour, I knew not to doubt him.

"Thank you, Vlad. You don't know how much this means to me." I told him, and he quickly replied that it was the least he could do, when it came to helping Danny and I.

If Vlad Masters said something would be done, than there was nothing in the world short of plans within plans within plans of _Vlad's own creation_ that could stop it from happening.

"And...there's something you should know... We know about his powers." I said quickly, and snapped the phone shut before he could reply, not knowing what else to say.

**DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNNN!**

**SOO people! THOUGHTS! FEELINGS! Comment, Concerns, any at all? I was rather disapointed with the turnout for the last chapter-only 1 review, out of ~328 (THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY EIGHT!) people who read this story last month! ****='( So, thanks go to Jeanett9a, for your Review! I loved it!**

**Also, for the long update reason, I've decided that this story will be only updated on Mondays. Why? no particular reason, other than it gives me more time to edit and prepare future chapters, that it was a Monday when i first updated it, and it makes everyone's week better!**

**See you all whatever Monday i update next!**

**Don't forget to**

**Review! (_please?)_**


	12. Chapter ten

النكتة هي عليك، عزيزي القارئ**Chapter Ten **النكتة هي عليك، عزيزي القارئ

**Vlad Masters:**

**Thursday, August 7****h****.**

"Oh Cheese Logs!" I cursed as I stared at the phone, where the image of my beautiful Maddie was slightly overshadowed by the large, glaring red letters that stated the obvious "Connection Lost".

_How did they find out about his powers? Did Daniel tell them? No, I can't imagine him doing that...and Maddie said something had happened to him. Was he hurt, and turned back by accident? Is that how they found out? Or did his stupid little friends tell them? Wait! Did they tell them about _my_ ghost half as well?_

A glare quickly worked itself onto my face, as I clenched my hands into fists at the thought of Daniel's friends revealing both his and _my own_ secret to the boy's parents.

Eyes flashing with barely concealed rage, I reached inside myself for my ghost core, a black and red flame in my mindscape, located centrally over my human heart.

Instantly, a black flash of anti-light lit up around my abdomen and flashed upwards and downwards, removing my weak human body from this dimension and switching it with my true, strong ghost half. With hardly a thought, red flames burst out of the super-heated air around my hands, and a snarl worked its way past my bared fangs.

They would pay with their lives for what they had stolen from him.

The truth of what he was, that only he could give; they had taken it and thrown it in the face of his love, like garbage, instead of the powerful gift it should have been.

And Maddie would hate him now. _Despise him._

_It was all Jack's fault._

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

With a shout of triumph, I leapt into the air, charging in to hug Jack as he brandished the completed Portal-Opener control, shouting at the top of my lungs for the kids to get down here, so we could rescue Danny.

With a thunderous pounding of feet on stairs, Jazz, Tucker and Sam (her eyes still glowing eerily in the dark) leapt down the stairs, their eyes wide and eager to see their friend and brother again.

"How did you finish it so quickly?" Tucker demands, his techno-geek pride going into overload, and I smiled down at my son's best friend.

"Well, Tucker, it's quite simple; we're not the world's leading ghost experts for nothing, you know!" I proclaimed proudly, patting his beret'ed head fondly.

Jack bounced over to my side to explain. "It was a simple matter of reversing the quazi-flux compositor and splicing it into the anti-material ambient ectoplasm in the air, which post-mortem entities use to manifest their own semi-dimensional tears in the multiversal web!" He shouted, and everyone, even Jazz looked a bit lost at his rare use of such large words.

"Uh...wha?" Tucker asked, cocking one eyebrow quizzically behind his glasses.

"Oh, who cares how it happened! We just need to get Danny back! He's been in that game suffering who knows what for FOUR DAYS already!" Sam shouted, her glowing amethyst eyes glowing in eager exasperation.

Forcibly reminded of my son's absence, I nodded solemnly, the earlier pride waning in the wake of happiness being able to see my son again, safe and sound.

I smiled again and turned to face the glowing 'PS3' that sat seemingly innocently on a lab table, hooked up to a monstrous screen. Beaming at the thought of seeing Danny again, I pressed the single, solitary button on the device.

Two things happened at once.

A bright red light flared from the TV the ghostly gaming console had been hooked up to, swirling in a vortex of color that blew papers across the room.

The temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees in a split second, and were still dropping steadily; the entire room's colors seemed to fade out into odd purples and blues and reds, the normal vibrancy of the steel walls dulled to a dark, shadow grey.

Signs of a very powerful, and _very_ ticked off spirit.

With a gasp, I quickly released the Fenton Wrist-ray and whirled around, shouting a warning to the kids—but they were already _gone._

Eyes wide in horror, I stared, shocked, uncomprehending, at the bodies strewn haphazardly across the lab.

There was a muffled thud from behind me, and, feeling like I had been dunked in arctic water and incased in ice, I slowly, painfully, turned around, back to where Jack was standing.

_Had _been standing.

Standing was hard when you don't have legs.

As the world began to blur around me, I could barely hear over the roaring in my head, the hysterical laughter/wailing resonating from the portal, could barely see the golden-eyed Jester as it stumbled out of the TV, clutching a small, grey-skinned being in its arms that was covered in crimson.

Could barely see the demon dressed in white that appeared out of thin air over Jack's body, the long black hair held in demonic spikes. The red cape that flared out behind the familiar creature in an unnatural wind.

The familiar red eyes the blazed like the pits of hell.

The even more familiar voice that issued from the creature's throat, when it opened its fanged maw.

"No more games. No more playing around. This is chess, and I am KING."

As the world faded from her vision, she could distantly hear a man screaming for his listener to _come back, don't leave, don't leave, I just found you I just found you, you can't leave!_ And the demons words as he whispered into her ear at the same time his claws ripped through her chest,

"_Checkmate,_ my dear Madeline."

And the world faded to black, and she knew no more.

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Line Break **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

When she came to, it was to an absolutely devastating sensation of being in a void. Nothing around her. Nothing within her. She was nothing. Nothing was Nothing.

Nothing was everything.

And from the Void came a deep, ancient voice, like rattling bones disturbed from their rest, and the nothingness that had been Madeline Fenton felt icy _nothingness_ tear at the empty place she had once called a heart, though she, it, _nothing_ did not recall this, because it didn't exist. Not any more.

She was nothing.

It was nothing.

_Nothing was nothing._

The nonexistent voice rang out through the nothingness, and made the words exist, in a hidden plain of nothingness and nonentities and darkness.

_"April Fools."_

الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال**Author's Note **الخط الفاصل بين الواقع والخيال

**_Being evil is fun. You should all try it some time :P_**


	13. Chapter 10 (Real)

**وكان آخر ما قبلها انتهت الآن وإلى الأبد ****Chapter Ten وكان آخر ما قبلها انتهت الآن وإلى الأبد**

**Vlad Masters:**

**Thursday, August 7t****h****.**

"Oh Cheese Logs!" I cursed as I stared at the phone, where the image of my beautiful Maddie was slightly overshadowed by the large, glaring red letters that stated the obvious "Connection Lost".

_How did they find out about his powers? Did Daniel tell them? No, I can't imagine him doing that...and Maddie said something had happened to him. Was he hurt, and turned back by accident? Is that how they found out? Or did his stupid little friends tell them? Wait! Did they tell them about _my_ ghost half as well?_

A glare quickly worked itself onto my face, as I clenched my hands into fists at the thought of Daniel's friends revealing both his and _my own_ secret to the boy's parents.

"Ugh, of all the times I decide to disable my cameras to upgrade them..." I growled to myself, reaching inside for the flame of black and crimson energy that was my ghost half's hot core. I effortlessly willed it into the forefront of my being, not even blinking as the impossibly dark ring of night flashed up and down my body, replacing my weak human side with my strong, terrifying ghost form.

Creating a duplicate, I quickly ordered it to take on my original appearance and to go and inform all of my human workers that I would be leaving for an indefinite amount of time on a very important business trip, and that if _any_ of them made one _single_ mistake in my absence, they could kiss their jobs and any recommendations I may have made for future jobs_ 'goodbye.'_

Turning in the direction I knew Amity Park in which lay, I quickly leapt through the glass of my hundred-and-six-story skyscaper, passing through the solid barrier with the ease of ten years spent constantly training my powers until I could use them without even batting an eye.

Focusing on my destination, I closed my eyes and drew on one of my most useful talents, (aside from Duplication and Shadow Copying, of course): Teleportation. Reaching into my core, I once again drew upon my ghostly energy, bringing it forth to surround my body in a strong protective, (if barely noticeable) red glow; after all, teleportation was dangerous in and of itself; adding to the equation long distances and the presence of other spectral entities that could possibly mess up the homing 'signal' ghosts used to mark their destinations...let's just say things could get messy very quick without it—that, and ectoplasm was a right butter biscuit to get out of clothes, _especially_ my ten-thousand dollar suits that I used for everyday wear.

Taking a deep breath, I released the energy into my hand, and brought it down in a quick slicing movement, keeping the back of my hand as close to my body as possible, and _whoosh!_

In a burst of red smoke, I was sucked through the small tear in reality I had created, and when I opened my eyes an instant later (though it felt like an eternity had passed in the void that you had to traverse through to travel in trans-locational portals) I was in my secret lab, standing in front of my ghost portal.

Walking briskly over to one of the lab tables, I grabbed two of the many large, heavy duty suitcases with the symbol of the ancient Greek god Hermes, a winged staff with two snake's intertwined around the top (also known as the older symbol for hospitals) printed on the front lined up neatly against the left wall, and placing them near the portal.

Grabbing a similar one from the right wall, though this one was unmarked, I flipped it open and began to carefully place different equipment in it such as small, compact ghost traps, ectoguns, and nets, as well as physical combat weapons: a small, ecto-steel dagger, a couple of throwing knives, and a very special sword hilt, that, at the touch of a button and a sample of my energy, would become a full length long-sword.

Was any of this really necessary? Who knew? All I needed to know was that something had happened to Daniel, Maddie needed my help, and she, (and possibly Jack as well) knew about Daniel's ghost powers, and either of them may or may not know about my _own _ghost half.

Glancing at my watch, I saw that almost twenty minutes had passed; glancing at the suitcase before me on the table, I saw that it was packed as full as far as safety would allow. Closing the lid and twisting the small combination locks, I took up the heavy (well, it would have been heavy if I were not using my ghostly strength) briefcase and floated over to the two medical packs at the base of the ghost portal.

Pressing the intercom button on my watch that I had upgraded previously (using special ectoplasmic technology) to do almost anything a new computer could, I quickly informed my ghostly staff that I was going away for a while; they were to clean and maintain the property as usual, and had explicit orders not to let in any ghost other than my closest allies onto the property, and only then if they had a special pass code I would give them if it was necessary for them to gain entrance to my lab.

Finally, when everything was prepared for my absence, I quickly focused once more on my destination, this time encasing not only myself in the protective glow, the suitcases as well, one of which (the one containing the various weapons) would be traveling with me, not through physical contact, but by ghostly telekinesis as a more stable way of transport.

Drawing on my ghost energy one again, I brought my hand up and ripped through reality once more, before being summarily sucked into the void in space and time in a small, soundless explosion of red steam, caused by the ectoplasmic molecules in my body colliding and passing through those of the air around me at super speed.

Shrugging off as best I could the oppressive feeling of the void as I passed through it, I appeared at my destination. Before I had even opened my eyes or a second had even passed, I quickly became invisible, fading out of the visible spectrum instinctively as the sounds of city life surrounded me; opening my eyes, I beheld the monstrosity that was known as "Fenton Works", the place my darling Madeline and young Daniel, my son in all but blood were forced to reside by that _imbecile,_ Jack Fenton.

Scowling, I quickly phased through the top of the building, into the 'Ops Center', making sure to repress my ectosignature enough that I could pass safely by the (admittedly advanced) anti-ghost security, (Maddie's doing, no doubt) without reducing my abilities to the point where I would be left defenseless in case something _did_ catch me.

Setting my briefcases onto the ground, I glanced around and quickly spotted the 'hidden' cameras. Floating up to the one closest to me while extending my invisibility to the suitcases, I reached out towards the wiring, feeling my hand heat up with ecto-energy as I remembered the lessons Technus had given me, after I had, ahem, _persuaded_ him it would be in his 'best interest' to be a good teacher. Bringing my energy forth, I willed it into the circuitry and wires, seemingly giving them a life of their own as they began to move within the camera, forming connections where previously there had been none, and burning away previous connections as if by magic, manipulating them in such a way that—_Click!_

I grinned maliciously, fangs bared as I withdrew my hand. Turning around the face one of the many monitors, I quickly made sure I was not in the line of sight of any of the other camera's and made my hand partially visible, quickly swiping it in front of the camera while watching the monitor that was linked to this particular camera.

Nothing happened on screen.

I smirked, but resisted the urge to laugh out loud; though the camera's would no longer be able to pick up my ghost form in its visual receptors due to some very complicated and _very useful_ ecto-electrical manipulation, it would still be able to pick up my voice, spectral or no.

_Now for the other cameras,_ I thought, glancing at my invisible watch which I was able to see while in

the non-visible spectrum; it had now been thirty five minutes since Maddie had called me, begging for me to save her son...and to tell me that she knew of said son's ghost powers.

_Just one more thing to do before I officially arrive..._

Floating without rush to the main monitor, I quickly repeated the ecto-electrical manipulation, this time sending the crimson energy throughout the house via the main console, so that each and every piece of electrical surveillance equipment hooked to the main system would no longer register my ectosignature; no matter what spectrum I willed myself into from now on, when in my ghost form, I would be all but undetectable to the Fenton's security systems.

Finally satisfied with my work, I turned and grabbed the two medical packs, the weapons' case still floating behind me, and phased back out of the Ops Center and back into open air. Landing in a secluded, dark alley not lit by street lamps a couple of houses down from Maddie's, I checked to make sure no one was around and quickly changed back into my human form; opting to carry both of the medical packs in my left hand while I held the weapons case with my right.

Striding down the street, chin held high and shoulders straightened imperiously, I boasted a commanding aura that would make any of the odd night prowlers quickly shy away and flee upon experiencing the power of my glare.

Reaching the front door in the regular, mortal fashion, I gently sat the weapons case onto the porch, making sure it was in a stable, shielded spot before knocking politely, praying to the Spirits that my dear Maddie would be the one to answer the door.

I grinned widely as fortune smiled upon me, for when the door swung open, it was Maddie Fenton, the most beautiful woman in the world that invited me inside, her voice soft spoken and musical, instead of that great lump of fudge she called her husband, who most certainly would have tried to break my back in a crushing hug, as well as somehow manage to damage the three, million-dollar suitcases that were designed to be indestructible under any circumstances...knowing Jack, he would find a way eventually.

"I hope you will accept my most since apologies, my dear Maddie, for my late arrival, the traffic from my private landing pad to here was horrendous, and even _I_ can't make that travel any faster...without the needless waste of time and effort, of which it would take far less to just wait patiently."

"No problem Vladdie! We're just glad you could make it! We really need your help!" The fat idiot said, interrupting the beautiful woman he had stolen from me years ago before she could even open her mouth to speak.

I turned and glared at him, about to make a witty, sarcastic, and insulting remark that would invariably fly right over his head, when a slender hand on my shoulder stopped me.

I turned, mouth still parted to speak my mind, but I faltered upon finally looking into Maddie's beautiful, but devastated eyes, still red from the tears that had obviously been shed before my arrival.

Immediately all of my hate for Jack Fenton was washed away, to be replaced with love and compassion and concern for the woman I loved with all of my human heart and ghostly core.

"What do you need me to do?"

* * *

**AHAHAHHA I AM SO EXCITED! ****This chapter marks the end of my (linear) pre-written work, and, excluding a few scenes I was prompted to write (you can thank creative writiting class and insomnia for that!), every thing else after this will be hot off the Microsoft word Doc, without stagnating on my computer for months with idle betaing and editing :P oh course, my sis, Rjalker (read her DP/Skyrim fic for a small hint as to what's to come, and make sure you REVIEW IT, she needs more!) will be beta-ing while I write, and my own grammar-freak will take care of the rest :P**

**So, see you guys another Monday, and i hope you've enjoyed mylittle prank and evenmoreso this chapter :) (Yes, obviouly, i LOVE Vlad to bits, though it _is_ possible for me to write him as a villain, i don't enjoy it nearly enough as making him a manipulative Slytherin, like myself (but without the egomania...) :D**


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